HISTORY 


NINTH  AND  TENTH 

REGIMENTS 

RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS, 


AND    THE 


Tenth  Rhode  Island  Battery, 

IN  THE  UNION  ARMY  IN  1862. 

,-.^;^~ 


, 


PROVIDENCE: 

SNOW  &  FARNHAM,   PRINTERS, 
1892. 


.  s 


COPYRIGHTED,  1892. 


RHODE    ISLAND 

Ninth  and  Tenth   Regiments, 


AND 


TENTH    BATTERY. 


WILLIAM    A.    SPICER, 

Co.  B,  Tenth  R.  I.  Vols. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGES. 

INTRODUCTION 5 

PRELIMINARY  CHAPTERS  : 

THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  BOYS    ......  9 

THE  COLLEGE  BOYS  OF  "BROWN"     .  .21 

THE  RHODE  ISLAND  NATIONAL  GUARD      ...         37 

THE  CALL  FOR  VOLUNTEERS  IN  MAY,  1862  ...  63 
THE  NINTH  RHODE  ISLAND  VOLUNTEERS  ...  67 
THE  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND  VOLUNTEERS  .  .  .  121 
THE  TENTH  LIGHT  BATTERY  RHODE  ISLAND  VOLUNTEERS  317 
REUNIONS  OF  THE  NINTH  AND  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND 

VETERAN  ASSOCIATIONS,  .  .  .  .  331,  339 

ROSTER  OF  NINTH  AND  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND  REGIMENTS 

AND  TENTH  BATTERY  .  .  .  .  .  361,  385 

RESOLUTIONS  ........  414-415 


M208967 


INTRODUCTION. 


N 


44  IV  T  EVER  in  all  history  was  so  wonderful  a  scene  as  the  sud 
den  uprising  of  our  people,  and  their  quiet  return  to 
the  pursuits  of  peace.  We  can  only  liken  it  to  the 
poetic  description  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  the  Lady  of  the  Lake, 
when  Roderick  gives  the  shrill  whistle  through  the  copse  and  heath, 
that  summons  his  men  before  the  face  of  Fitz  James. 

'  That  whistle  garrisoned  the  glen 
At  once  with  full  five  hundred  men, 
As  if  the  yawning  hill  to  heaven 
A  subterranean  host  had  given.' 

"Then  after  his  purpose  was  fulfilled,  he  bids  them  return  again 
as  silently  as  they  had  come. 

'  Short  space  he  stood,  then  waved  his  hand, 
Down  sank  the  disappearing  band. 
It  seemed  as  if  their  mother  earth 
Had  swallowed  up  her  warlike  birth.' 

"In  our  land,  not  hundreds,  but  thousands  and  millions  sprang 
to  the  call  of  liberty,  and  when  their  service  was  ended,  after 
many  of  their  comrades  had  perished  on  the  field  of  honor,  the 
survivors  returned  as  quietly  to  the  employments  of  peace  and 
the  delights  of  home." — Rev.  James  G.  Vose,  D.  D. 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

Various  veteran  associations  are  wisely  engaged  in  making  a 
record  of  the  personal  experiences  of  their  members  in  the  War 
for  the  Union.  Doubtless  it  will  prove  a  most  valuable  and  au 
thentic  record,  and  to  it  in  generations  to  come,  the  historian  will 
resort  for  the  substance  of  his  judgments. 

The  preparation  of  this  book  was  undertaken  at  the  unanimous 
request  of  the  members  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  and 
Battery  Association,  at  its  thirtieth  annual  reunion,  May  26,  1892. 

Though  the  work  assigned  the  Committee  was  entered  upon 
with  some  reluctance,  on  account  of  business  and  professional 
duties,  it  has  brought  its  own  reward  in  the  joy  of  living  over  old 
times  again,  and  the  days  of  youthful  vigor,  when  at  a  moment's 
warning,  we  put  on  uniform  and  hurried  to  the  defence  of  the 
capital. 

This  record  professes  to  be,  not  a  treatise  on  the  war,  but  a 
modest,  and  we  trust,  truthful  narrative  of  scenes  and  incidents 
of  our  three  months'  campaign  in  1862,  with  such  a  description  of 
the  military  situation  in  Virginia,  as  will  enable  the  reader  to 
form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  services  rendered.  Diligent  inquiry 
has  been  made  among  the  members  for  old  letters,  diaries  and 
sketches,  and  one  of  the  Committee,  Comrade  William  A.  Spicer, 
has  consented  to  arrange  the  material  collected  and  edit  the 
history. 

The  Committee  realize  that  the  War  for  the  Union  is  long  since 
over,  and  that  the  years  of  peace  and  progress  which  have  followed 
have  made  it  only  a  memory.  They  still  feel,  however,  that  the 
rising  generations  which  have  grown  up  since  the  war,  should 
become  familiar  with  its  history,  and  read  enough  of  the  details,  to 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

know  in  what  spirit  it  was  carried  on,  and  what  of  valor  and  devo 
tion  to  country  is  still  in  our  educated  American  youth. 

"Prior  to  the  late  Rebellion,"  said  Gen.  Horatio  Rogers,  him 
self  a  gallant  soldier,  and  an  honored  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  our  State,  "  it  was  a  matter  of  speculation  among  us 
whether  if  opportunity  offered,  the  young  men  of  this  generation 
would  emulate  the  heroism  of  their  patriotic  ancestors.  In  those 
tranquil  times,  and  to  our  inexperienced  minds,  the  history  of  the 
great  struggle  for  National  Independence  seemed  like  a  romance. 
Our  civil  war  has  at  length  solved  the  problem,  .  .  .  and  has 
proved  that  devotion  to  country  has  not  withered  in  the  hearts  of 
American  youth."  And  to-day,  as  we  behold  with  patriotic  pride 
our  country's  flag  proudly  floating  over  our  public  schools  and 
colleges,  we  feel  that  it  has  a  new  meaning  of  freedom  and  bless 
ing  for  this  generation  and  the  generations  to  come. 

Certainly  no  class  of  our  citizens  exhibited  a  purer  patriotism 
during  the  war,  than  the  members  of  our  high  schools  and  colleges, 
and  as  a  considerable  part  of  the  good  material  of  the  Ninth  and 
Tenth  Regiments  and  Battery,  was  drawn  from  the  Providence 
High  School  and  Brown  University,  we  will  introduce  this  history 
with  brief  sketches  of  those  institutions  at  the  time  of  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion. 


ALBERT  J.   MANCHESTER,  Tenth  R.  I.  Vols. 

WILLIAM  A.  SPICER, 

WILLIAM  A.   H.  GRANT, 

H.  H.  RICHARDSON,  Ninth     " 

P.  B.    STINESS,  Tenth  R.  I.  Batt. 


Historical 
Committee. 


PROVIDENCE,  July  4,  1892. 


THE     HIGH     SCHOOL     IN     1862. 


THE   HIGH   SCHOOL   BOYS 

OF     PROVIDENCE. 


"  We  are  the  boys,  the  gay  old  boys, 

Who  marched  in  sixty-one, 
We'll  ne'er  forget  old  times,  my  boys, 
When  you  and  I  were  young." 


—  Old  song. 


OUR  school  days  were  cast  in  eventful  times.  Some  of  the 
Providence  boys  who  met  thirty  years  ago  in  the  old  High 
School  on  Benefit  Street,  can  hardly  have  forgotten  the 
stirring  events  which  preceded  the  war,  and  the  memorable  presi 
dential  campaign  of  1860.  Joining  the  Lincoln  wide  awake  army, 
they  proudly  shouldered  their  torches  and  marched  on  to  victory, 
little  heeding  the  threatening  clouds  of  secession  gathering  in  the 
Southern  horizon.  How  few  then,  North  or  South,  young  or  old, 
realized  the  nearness  of  the  whirlwind  of  civil  war,  which  was  soon 
to  burst  forth  and  rage  for  four  long  years,  carrying  desolation 
into  almost  every  family  in  the  land.  A  struggle  which  killed 
six  hundred  thousand,  and  permanently  disabled  a  million  young 
men.  But  it  abolished  state  rights  and  slavery,  the  causes  of  the 
conflict,  and  settled  finally  the  great  principle  declared  by  Web 
ster,  that  the  Union  is  "now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable." 

The  first  gun  fired  on  Fort  Sumter,  April  12,  1861,  aroused  and 
excited  the  nation.  President  Lincoln  at  once  called  for  75,000 
men.  Rhode  Island  was  ready,  and  looked  to  General  Burnside 


IO  THE    HIGH    SCHOOL    BOY'S 

for  a  leader.  The  ladies  met  in  the  church  vestries  and  made 
uniforms  for  the  volunteers.  All  classes  were  united  in  the  deter 
mination  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  our  flag.  The  excitement  was 
fully  shared,  if  not  increased,  by  the  High  School  boys.  Every 
one  was  expected  to  show  his  colors,  and  it  was  voted  to  purchase 
and  raise  the  national  flag  over  the  High  School  building.  Hear 
ing  that  the  college  boys  were  about  to  unfurl  the  "  stars  and 
stripes  "  over  University  Hall  (where,  eighty-eight  years  before, 
the  old  Revolutionary  flag  had  floated),  it  was  determined  to  anti 
cipate  them,  if  possible.  Wednesday  afternoon,  April  I7th,  at 
five  o'clock,  being  the  time  appointed  for  the  exercises  at  the  col 
lege,  the  following  High  School  announcement  appeared  in  the 
Journal  of  that  day  :  "The  'stars  and  stripes  '  will  be  raised  this 
afternoon  over  the  High  School,  at  half  past  four !"  But  the 
boys  were  finally  induced  to  defer  their  public  demonstration  till 
the  following  morning,  though  they  couldn't  refrain  from  in 
dulging  in  a  little  informal  flag-raising  at  the  hour  first  announced, 
thus  securing  the  desired  priority,  and  the  following  notice  from 
the  Evening  Press :  "  High  School  Patriotism. — A  splendid  na 
tional  flag,  purchased  by  the  subscription  of  over  one  hundred 
High  School  boys,  was  displayed  from  the  High  School  building, 
this  afternoon  !"  The  formal  exercises  were  of  a  most  interest 
ing  character.  At  eleven  o'clock,  in  the  presence  of  teachers, 
scholars,  citizens,  and  soldiers,  who  were  about  leaving  for  the 
war,  the  boys  raised  the  flag,  followed  by  the  singing  of  the  "Star 
Spangled  Banner."  The  young  ladies  of  the  school  carried 
small  national  flags.  Mayor  Knight  delivered  a  brief  opening 
address,  and  introduced  Professor  Chace,  of  Brown  University, 


OF    PROVIDENCE.  I  I 

who  responded  with  scholarly  and  patriotic  sentiments.  Bishop 
Clark  related  an  anecdote  of  his  great  grandfather,  who,  after  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  was  obliged  to  sleep  in  a  baker's  oven,  and 
added,  "  I  am  glad  that  he  did  not  get  baked,  else  I  should  not 
have  been  here  to-day  to  address  you  !  "  and  turning  to  the  "  Ma 
rines,"  who  were  soon  to  leave  for  Washington,  with  the  First 
Rhode  Island  Regiment,  he  said,  "  some  of  you  may  have  to  sleep 
in  a  baker's  oven  before  you  get  back,  but  I  hope  you  will  not 
get  baked,  but  come  home  well  bre(a)d  men  as  you  now  are." 
They  were  indeed  soon  tried  in  the  fiery  furnace  of  Bull  Run,  and 
some  never  returned.  Ex-Mayor  Rodman,  in  his  pleasant  man 
ner,  referred  to  a  conversation  between  Gen.  Nathanael  Greene 
and  his  mother,  during  the  Revolution,  in  which  she  cautioned 
him  "not  to  get  shot  in  the  back!"  Dr.  Caldwell  made  an  im 
pressive  closing  address,  then  "America"  was  heartily  sung, 
followed  by  cheers  for  "the  Union,"  "the  young  ladies  of  the 
High  School,"  "  Governor  Sprague,"  the  "  First  Regiment,"  and 
the  "Marines."  "  Fifteen  cheers  and  a  Narragansett  "  were  given 
by  the  boys  for  a  dispatch,  read  by  Bishop  Clark,  that  Virginia  had 
decided  not  to  secede.  But  they  found  out,  a  few  days  later,  that 
they  had  wasted  their  ammunition  on  the  "Old  Dominion." 

It  was  now  apparent  that  there  was  sufficient  military  spirit  to 
warrant  the  formation  of  a  High  School  company.  A  meeting 
was  held  in  the  hall,  at  which  a  committee  of  arrangements  was 
appointed,  who  "pushed  things,"  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  boys  fell 
into  line  under  the  name  of  the  "  Ellsworth  Phalanx,"  in  honor 
of  the  youthful  and  gallant  commander  of  the  New  York  Zouaves. 
He  had  been  shot  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  a  few  weeks  before  (May 


12  THE    HIGH    SCHOOL    BOYS 

24th),  while  engaged  in  lowering  a  rebel  flag  from  a  hotel  in  that 
city.  How  it  would  have  startled  the  members  of  the  "  Ellsworth 
Phalanx,"  could  they  have  known  that  the  next  year,  some  of  their 
number  would  be  marching  through  that  same  rebellious  city,  and 
by  the  very  hotel  where  Ellsworth  fell !  Yet  so  it  proved,  and 
as  they  marched,  they  sung  the  stirring  strains  of  "  Ellsworth's 
Avengers,"  quickly  followed  by  that  grand  old  marching  song, 

"  John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave 
But  his  soul  is  marching  on  !  " 

The  beautiful  standard  of  colors  presented  to  the  Phalanx,  was 
the  gift  of  the  young  ladies  of  the  High  School.*  Daniel  W. 
Lyman,  who  was  afterwards  senator  in  the  General  Assembly,  was 
chosen  captain.  The  company  averaged  from  seventy  to  eighty 
boys,  according  to  the  pressure  of  study  at  the  High  School  By 
an  arrangement  with  the  United  Train  of  Artillery,  their  armory 
on  Canal  street  became  the  headquarters  of  the  corps,  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  veteran  Col.  Westcott  Handy,  of  the  Old 
Guard  Continentals,  it  soon  attained  a  creditable  degree  of  pro 
ficiency. 

The  discipline  was  strict,  and  there  was  no  levity,  the  boys 
thought,  about  the  hot  and  hard  marching.  But  who  can  forget 
those  refreshing  seasons  after  the  long  and  toilsome  drill  or  street 
parade,  when  good  Colonel  Handy  marched  us  through  his  herb 
beer  establishment,  near  the  Great  Bridge,  and  treated  one  and  all, 
to  a  large  glass  of  his  celebrated  beer,  "compounded  strictly 
from  medicinal  roots  and  herbs."  May  his  memory  ever  remain 

*This  flag  may  still  be  seen  at  the  High  School  on  Summer  Street. 


OF    PROVIDENCE.  13 

as  fragrant  as  his  beer!  What  wonder  that  the  corps  rapidly 
advanced  in  discipline  and  spirits  and  soon  attracted  not  a  little 
public  attention  for  its  steady  and  soldierly  bearing  on  parade. 
It  was  altogether,  the  boys  thought,  very  serious  business,  but 
the  discipline  did  much  doubtless  in  kindling  a  warmer  ardor  of 
patriotism,  and  a  stronger  devotion  to  duty.  An  indulgent  critic 
says,  "that  in  point  of  marching,  with  all  the  legs  going  together, 
twisting  itself  up  and  untwisting,  breaking  into  single  file  (for 
Indian  fighting),  forming  platoons  and  wheeling  with  faultless 
line  around  the  corner  of  North  Main  Street  and  Market  Square ; 
getting  out  of  the  way  of  a  wagon  or  omnibus,  and  circling  the 
High  Street  liberty  pole  and  town  pump  ;  with  ranks  well 
dressed,  and  eyes  'right  and  left,'  particularly  in  going  by  the 
High  School,  it  was  the  equal  of  any  military  organization  I  ever 
saw." 

It  is  needless  for  the  writer  to  add  that  he  was  an  ardent  mem 
ber  of  the  "Phalanx,"  rising  steadily  from  the  grade  of  "private" 
to  the  rank  of  "corporal."  Winning  at  the  "target-shoot"  the 
bright  cockade  of  red,  white  and  blue  ribbons,  to  be  worn  on 
bayonet  on  parade,  for  making  the  lucky  shot  at  two  hundred 
yards.  It  was  generally  admitted  that  the  "Phalanx"  could  drill 
better  and  execute  the  Zouave  manoeuvres  in  finer  style  than  some 
of  the  older  military  companies.  The  exhibition  drills  of  the  corps, 
and  the  brilliant  evening  assemblies,  with  Lyman  "potent  to 
preside,"  will  be  pleasantly  recalled.  How  they  enlivened  the 
long  winter  evenings  of  '61  ! 

But  the  Rebellion  was  not  yet  subdued.  Brighter  days  were 
looked  for  with  the  opening  of  '62,  but  the  situation  seemed 


14  THE    HIGH    SCHOOL    BOYS 

full  of  peril  to  the  nation.  As  with  men  all  over  the  land,  so  with 
the  students  of  the  High  School,  the  condition  of  the  country 
was  the  all  absorbing  topic  of  discussion.  The  following  essay  by 
"a  corporal,"  and  a  member  of  the  class  of  '62,  illustrates  the  spirit 
of  the  school  on 

"  THE  COMING  CRISIS." 

"Our  country  is  on  the  eve  of  a  great  crisis.  From  every  ap 
pearance  that  we  can  discern,  Liberty  and  Loyalty,  and  Rebellion 
and  Slavery  are  about  to  grapple  for  the  decisive  struggle.  The 
work  of  preparation,  which  has  been  energetically  pushed  forward 
during  the  past  six  months,  is  nearly  completed.  Our  young 
general-in-chief  has  been  employed  with  untiring  energy  in  gath 
ering  his  armies  around  the  rebel  capital,  and  hemming  in  the 
enemy  on  every  side,  and  the  command  for  the  final  advance  seems 
almost  now  to  echo  along  the  whole  line. 

"  We  all  know  what  a  terrible  shock  must  ensue,  and  can  all 
estimate  something  of  the  magnitude  of  its  results.  Of  course  we 
expect  our  army  to  be  victorious.  It  would  seem  as  though  the 
fruit  of  so  much  noble  sacrifice,  and  of  such  gigantic  preparation, 
must  be  victory.  The  people  have  given  their  money  and  treas 
ure  free  as  water,  their  lives  even,  as  of  little  value  in  comparison 
with  the  great  principles  at  stake.  For  these  they  have  permitted 
their  most  sacred  liberties  to  be  invaded  that  success  may  be 
rendered  more  certain.  We  claim,  too,  and  justly,  the  larger  and 
better  disciplined  battalions  ;  and  military  skill  has  been  exhausted 
in  placing  in  their  hands  the  most  destructive  weapons  of  modern 
warfare.  We  suppose,  therefore,  our  army  to  be  invincible.  But 


OF    PROVIDENCE.  I  5 

our  confidence  of  victory  lies  not  alone,  or  principally,  in  our  physi 
cal  strength,  but  in  the  moral  strength  of  our  cause.  Best  of  all, 
we  have  'God  and  the  Right'  upon  our  side.  Truth  and  Justice 
are  with  us.  The  prayers  of  the  millions  of  the  enslaved  through 
out  the  world  are  with  us.  We  are  fighting  to  preserve  the  glo 
rious  Union  for  which  our  fathers  fought  and  suffered  so  much. 
We  are  fighting  for  Freedom  and  Humanity  everywhere. 

"Truly  it  seems  that  with  such  a  cause,  and  with  such  soldiers 
and  generals,  victory  must  rest  upon  our  banners. 

"  Yet  we  must  not  be  too  sanguine  of  success.  Although  we 
know  that  the  right  must  eventually  triumph,  yet  our  country 
may  be  called  upon  to  pass  through  sterner  trials,  before  it  shall 
come  forth  from  the  flames  of  war  purified  and  regenerated.  We 
may  again  be  destined  to  learn  the  terrible  lesson  of  defeat.  It 
seems  now  almost  impossible,  but  we  cannot  tell 

"  When  our  army  was  before  Manassas  last  July,  we  supposed 
that  victory  would  certainly  be  ours,  and  when  the  intelligence 
came  of  the  panic  and  retreat  to  Washington,  it  fell  upon  the 
nation  with  a  sudden  shock  that  bowed  it  to  the  earth,  and  it  has 
not  recovered  from  the  effect  to-day. 

"  The  tide  of  battle  is  so  often  turned  by  unforeseen  and  unex 
pected  circumstances,  that  we  can  only  hope  and  wait  for  the  issue. 

"  While  there  is  time,  let  us  prepare  for  defeat  as  well  as  vic 
tory.  For  let  the  worst  indeed  come,  we  must  never  yield.  Our 
most  cherished  principles,  perhaps  the  national  existence,  are  at 
stake.  If  we  fail  in  this  struggle  for  liberty  and  union,  it  will  carry 
despair  to  the  hearts  of  the  oppressed  and  enslaved,  and  sound 
the  death-knell  of  free  institutions  everywhere. 


l6  THK    HIGH    SCHOOL    BOYS 

"  Whatever  sacrifice  ice  may  be  called  upon  to  make,  let  us  stand 
ready  to  meet  it.  We  are  not  too  young  to  possess  the  spirit  of 
true  patriotism,  the  spirit  of  the  gallant  '  Ellsworth,'  whose  name 
we  have  chosen.  Let  us  stand  ready,  therefore,  so  that  if  the 
safety  of  the  country  should  demand  it,  we  may  rally  with  full 
'  Phalanx'  in  her  defence,  and  give  our  aid,  little  though  it  may  be, 
to  the  good  cause." 

The  time  was  at  hand.  May  1862  came,  and  with  it  fresh  news 
of  disaster  to  the  Union  cause.  Stonewall  Jackson  with  20,000 
men,  had  sent  Banks's  little  army  whirling  down  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  to  the  Potomac,  and,  at  midnight,  on  the  25th,  a  dispatch 
came  to  Providence  announcing  the  disaster,  with  an  urgent  ap 
peal  for  troops  for  the  protection  of  the  capital.  Just  an  hour 
later,  the  governor  issued  an  order  to  immediately  organize  two 
new  regiments,  the  .Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers, 
and  the  Tenth  Light  Battery,  for  three  months'  service.  The 
response  was  prompt,  and  among  other  military  organizations,  the 
"  Ellsworth  Phalanx  "  of  the  High  School  furnished  a  liberal  quota. 
The  call  found  the  boys  "  volens  et  paratus"  now  our  motto. 
At  the  head  of  Company  B,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers, 
recruited  principally  from  the  ranks  of  the  High  School  and 
University  companies,  marched  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer,  formerly  the 
governor  of  the  state.  The  men  are  few  who  at  his  age  (over  fifty) 
would  have  left  the  comforts  of  home  for  the  arduous  position  of 
captain  in  a  volunteer  regiment.  And  those  High  School  boys, 
whose  fortunate  lot  it  was  to  belong  to  Captain  Dyer's  company, 
will  hardly  again  find  in  life  a  day  of  such  strange  excitement,  as 
that  on  which  they  first  put  on  uniform  and  started  for  camp. 


OF    PROVIDENCE.  IJ 

Many  of  the  boys  after  completing  their  first  term  of  service, 
re-enlisted,  and  as  commissioned  officers  served  through  the  war. 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the  students  of  the  High  School 
served  in  the  army  and  navy  during  the  Rebellion.  Seventeen 
died  in  the  service.* 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  to  honor  the  memory  of  one  of  our 
youngest  comrades  of  Company  A,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 

WILLIAM  FREDERICK  ATWOOD,  class  of  1862,  son  of  William 
and  Emeline  P.  Atwood,  was  born  in  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  in  Jan 
uary,  1845.  His  father  was  engaged  in  the  foundry  business 
at  that  time,  but  soon  after  removed  to  Providence,  R.  I.,  where 
his  grandfather,  John  Atwood,  had  been  for  many  years  a  well- 
known  resident  and  real  estate  proprietor.  "  Fred,"  as  he  was 
familiarly  called  at  home,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
and  in  1859  entered  the  High  School.  He  was  possessed  of  a 
genial  temperament  and  generous  disposition,  which  drew  around 
him  a  circle  of  personal  friends.  The  opening  of  the  war,  in  1861, 
aroused  and  excited  the  High  School  boys,  and  when  the  urgent 
call  for  volunteers  came  in  May,  1862,  young  Atwood  (although 
but  seventeen)  enlisted,  with  many  of  his  classmates,  in  Com 
pany  A,  Capt.  William  E.  Taber,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 

As  at  home  he  had  been  a  loving  son  and  brother,  so  now  he 
became  an  honored  comrade,  faithful  in  all  his  relations,  as  Cap 
tain  Taber  bears  cheerful  testimony.  He  was  taken  suddenly  ill 
at  Camp  Frieze,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  growing  rapidly 
worse  he  was  removed  to  Seminary  Hospital,  Georgetown,  D.  C., 

*  See  pnjfe  19,  "  In  Memoriani." 


1 8  THE    HIGH    SCHOOL    BOYS. 

where  he  diedjjune  29,  1862,  leaving  the  example  of  a  brave  and 
spotless  manhood. 

The  career  of  young  Atwood  is  one  of  the  briefest  recorded  in 
the  history  of  the  war.  But  thirty  days  elapsed  from  the  day  of 
his  departure  from  home  to  the  day  of  his  funeral.  But  those 
days,  few  as  they  were,  signally  illustrated  his  modest  fidelity  to 
every  trust,  and  his  cheerful  surrender  of  the  bright  hopes  of 
youth,  to  die  in  his  country's  service.  In  a  retired  and  beautiful 
spot  near  the  Soldiers'  Home,  overlooking  the  capital  which  his 
youthful  footsteps  had  hastened  to  defend,  he  sleeps  the  sleep 
which  no  morning  drum-beat  shall  break. 

Strangely  also,  his  father,  who  enlisted  a  few  months  later  in 
the  Eleventh  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  sickened  and  died,  and 
was  buried  at  Arlington,  only  a  few  miles  from  his  son's  grave. 

And  we  would  not  omit  to  mention,  with  honor,  the  name  of 
our  youthful  and  lamented  comrade,  Frederick  Metcalf  (son  of 
Col.  Edwin  Metcalf),  who,  although  but  fifteen  years  old,  enlisted 
with  his  other  classmates  in  Company  B.  But  Captain  Dyer  was 
unwilling  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  accepting  so  young  a 
volunteer  in  the  absence  of  his  father  (then  in  active  service  with 
his  regiment  at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C.)  But  this  did  not  dampen 
the  ardor  of  young  Metcalf,  and  we  find  him  in  October  of  the 
following  year,  a  second  lieutenant  in  his  father's  regiment  (the 
Third  Rhode  Island  Heavy  Artillery).  He  also  creditably  served 
as  post  adjutant  at  Fort  Pulaski,  Georgia,  till  May  27,  1864,  when 
he  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy.  But  in  the  following 
August  he  was  seized  with  the  typhoid  malaria,  and  died  on  the 
28th,  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age. 


Hit  flftemoriam. 


ROLL  OF  STUDENTS  OF  THE  PROVIDENCE  HIGH  SCHOOL 


WHO 


Died  in  tr\e  Service  of  tfjeir  Country  durirjg  tr\e  Rebellion. 

MUNRO  H.   GLADDING,  .     Class  of  1846. 

FRANCIS  B.   FERRIS,     .  "      1848. 

WILLIAM  WARE  HALL,  "      1848. 

JOHN  P.  SHAW,              .  .                                         "      1850. 

GEORGE  W.  FIELD,     .  "      1852. 

JAMES  H.  EARLE,         .  "      1853. 

HOWARD  GREENE,        .  "      1855. 

GEORGE  WHEATON  COLE,  .                                                  u      1856. 

SAMUEL  FOSTER,  2D,  "      1856. 

JESSE  COMSTOCK,          .  "      1858. 

J.   NELSON  BOGMAN,     .  "1861. 

PETER  HUNT,       .  "      1861. 

WILLIAM  F.  ATXVOOD,  .                  .               "      1862. 

BENJAMIN  E.   KELLY,  .              "      1862. 

CHARLES  M.  LATHAM,  .               "      1862. 

FREDERICK  METCALF,  "      1864. 

EUGENE  F.  GRANGER,  "      1866. 

NOTE.— The  year  given  is  in  all  cases,  that  of  graduating. 


BROWN     UNIVERSITY     IN     1862. 


THE   COLLEGE   BOYS 

OF    "BROWN." 


%i  For  each  of  them  considered  that  not  for  his  father  and  mother  only  was  he 
born,  but  also  for  his  fatherland." — Demosthenes  DeCorona. 

A  LARGE    number   of   the    students  of  "Brown"  left   the 
"campus"  for  the  camp,  some  at  the  very  outbreak  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.     During  the  winter  of  1 860,  the  politi 
cal  affairs  of  the  nation  assumed  an  aspect  which  no  lover  of  his 
country  could  regard  with  indifference.     The  distant  mutterings 
of  the  approaching  storm  were  heard  in   Hope  College  and  Uni 
versity  Hall.     The  literary  societies   in   their  meetings  discussed 
the  questions   of  the  day.     These  questions   also  furnished  the 
chief   topics    in    social   intercourse,  and   studies  correspondingly 
languished. 

*  In  the  spring  of  1860,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  came  to  Rhode 
Island,  he  found  no  more  attentive  listeners  to  the  two  addresses 
that  he  delivered, — one  in  Providence  and  one  in  Woonsocket— 
than  the  students  of  "  Brown,"  who  flocked  to  hear  him.  One  of 
them,  William  Ide  Brown,  the  beloved  class  president  of  '62, — who 
gallantly  served  in  the  army  from  August  10,  1862,  to  March  29, 
1865,  when  he  was  killed  before  Petersburg, — wrote  March  8, 1860, 

*  This  sketch  is  principally  from  the  pen  of  Maj.  S.  L.  Burrage,  class  of '62. 


22  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

"  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  speaks  this  evening  at  Woonsocket.     There 

is   to  be  an  extra  train,  and  pays  the  expenses  of  eighty 

or  ninety  students."  This  occasion  was  one  which  few  of  the  men 
who  were  in  college  can  forget,  so  long  as  life  shall  last.  Soon 
in  the  rapid  march  of  events,  the  western  orator  became  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Brown  saw  him  next  in  1862, 
as  in  company  with  McClellan  and  Burnside  the  President  passed 
along  the  lines  in  review  of  the  army  after  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
Threatened  violence  at  length  appeared  armed,  and  in  April, 
1861,  the  peal  of  hostile  cannon  filled  the  land.  But  the  sound  of 
the  first  gun  which  was  fired  at  Fort  Sumter  did  not  die  away 
when  it  reached  the  walls  of  the  college.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  set  forth  in  words  the  state  of  feeling  which  was  at  once  mani 
fested  throughout  the  university.  The  senior  class  procured  a 
flag,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  April  i/th,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Faculty,  the  students,  and  a  throng  of  the  friends  of  the  college, 
it  was  raised  over  University  Hall.  After  the  flag  had  been  un 
furled,  and  the  band  had  played  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner," 
President  Sears,  standing  on  the  steps  of  Manning  Hall,  delivered 
a  brief  address.  He  said  he  deprecated  civil  war.  He  regretted 
the  necessity  which  it  imposed  on  us  as  a  people.  But,  he  con 
tinued,  the  time  for  deliberation  is  past.  Every  man  is  now 
called  upon  to  show  himself  worthy  of  the  country  of  his  birth. 
It  is  fitting,  then,  that  to-day,  the  young  men  who  have  come  to 
this  university  to  learn — to  learn  to  be  patriots  he  would  hope— 
and  who  have  everything  at  stake  in  this  crisis,  should  show  that 
they  appreciate  the  inestimable  blessings  which  they  have  inher 
ited  from  a  brave  and  noble  ancestry. 


OF    "  BROWN." 


Bishop  Clark  said  that  eighty  years  ago  the  old  Revolutionary 
flag  waved  over  University  Hall.  It  meant  that  our  fathers  were 
striving  to  establish  the  sacred  institutions  of  a  free  government. 
The  flag  we  raise  to-day  means  that  we  intend  to  preserve  those 
institutions.  We  deprecate  war,  he  continued,  especially  civil 
war.  All  our  interests,  all  our  feelings  are  against  it.  But  ene 
mies  have  arisen  among  us.  They  have  commenced  the  most 
wicked  contest  ever  waged.  We  do  not  hate  them,  yet  we  can 
not  sit  tamely  by  while  they  are  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  very 
foundations  of  our  political  fabric. 

Bishop  Clark  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  who  said  it 
was  not  a  time  when  any  one  should  be  silent  who  loves  his 
country  and  his  God.  We  are  all  men  of  peace,  he  added,  but 
here  is  a  thing  inevitable.  It  is  government  or  no  government. 
The  South  does  not  wish  to  go  peaceably.  If  we  have  erred  at 
all  we  have  erred  on  the  side  of  forbearance,  but  the  past  is  gone. 
Let  us  show  by  our  action  that  we  continue  to  love  our  whole 
country. 

The  hymn  "  My  country,  'tis  of  thee,"  was  then  sung  by  the 
students. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Caldwell  said  that  on  the  previous  Sabbath  he 
could  not  but  feel  it  was  a  time  for  praying  rather  than  for  preach 
ing.  The  time  for  words  was  now  past,  the  time  for  deeds  had 
come.  Be  assured,  he  added,  that  what  we  see  going  on  around 
us  is  going  on  everywhere,  from  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  to  the 
lakes.  A  conflict  is  impending,  but  we  go  into  it,  not  in  passion  ; 
we  simply  seek  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  our  country  in  restoring 
its  rightful  authority. 


24  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

Ex-Governor  Dyer  delivered  the  last  address.  He  commenced 
by  saying  that  in  the  whole  course  of  his  experience  he  had  never 
been  subject  to  such  conflicting  emotions  as  were  passing  through 
his  heart  at  that  moment.  Yonder  is  our  country's  flag,  and  the 
chimes  of  our  city  are  ringing  out  the  national  anthems  ;  but  is  it 
possible,  he  asked,  that  that  flag  and  that  music  are  needed  to  re 
mind  us  that  we  are  the  citizens  of  one  of  the  noblest  nations  of 
the  earth  ?  We  are  called  to  contend  with  traitors,  the  victims  of 
delusion  ;  all  party  distinctions,  therefore,  should  be  laid  aside, 
and  each  man  should  be  ready  to  make  whatever  sacrifices  the 
honor  of  the  country  may  demand. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  addresses  which  were  delivered 
on  this  interesting  occasion.  They  did  not  float  away  on  the  soft 
winds,  then  laden  with  the  freshness  of  returning  spring.  There 
were  those  grouped  upon  the  chapel  steps,  who  then,  as  never  be 
fore,  were  "  stirred  with  high  hopes  of  living  to  be  brave  men  and 
worthy  patriots  ;"  and  to  whom  the  words  at  that  time  spoken 
were  an  inspiration  for  good,  as  in  the  years  which  followed,  when, 
weary  from  long  marching,  watching,  fighting,  they  recurred  to 
them  for  added  strength  in  entering  upon  fresh  trials  of  endurance. 

Burnside  had  arrived  in  the  city  the  day  previous,  and  was 
already  organizing  the  "First  Rhode  Island."  While  engaged  in 
the  business  of  his  office  in  New  York,  he  had  received  the  fol 
lowing  dispatch  :  "A  regiment  of  Rhode  Island  troops  will  go  to 
Washington  this  week.  How  soon  can  you  come  on  and  take 
command  ?  William  Sprague,  Governor  of  Rhode  Island." 
Both  the  answer  and  the  answerer  were  ready.  "At  once,"  was 
the  reply.  Not  a  few  from  the  several  classes  in  the  college  en- 


OF    "  BROWN.  25 

tered  its  ranks.  Brown,  writing  to  his  father  that  evening  said, 
"  To-night,  as  I  see  the  streets  thick  with  uniforms,  it  begins  to 
seem  like  war.  The  excitement  here  is  intense." 

About  the  middle  of  May,  a  military  company,  the  University 
Cadets,  was  organized  at  the  college,  and  consisted  of  seventy- 
eight  men,  rank  and  file.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  that  dur 
ing  the  Rebellion  eight  of  its  fourteen  officers  served  with 
distinction  in  the  Union  armies.  The  campus  in  rear  of  the  uni 
versity  afforded  a  suitable  drill-ground,  and  such  was  the  proficiency 
to  which  the  company  soon  attained,  that  the  tri-weekly  drill  of 
the  Cadets  attracted  not  a  little  public  attention. 

Class-day  occurred  on  June  I3th.  The  class  president,  Mr. 
William  W.  Hoppin,  was  absent  serving  as  a  private  in  the  First 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers.  The  president  of  the  day,  William  W. 
Douglas,  the  class  orator,  Sumner  U.  Shearman,  and  the  class 
poet,  all  afterwards  entered  the  military  service,  and  were  mus 
tered  out  with  the  same  rank.  In  the  afternoon  of  class-day,  the 
University  Cadets  had  their  first  public  parade.  The  line  was 
formed  on  the  campus  at  three  o'clock.  Then  preceded  by  Gil- 
more's  (Pawtucket)  full  band,  the  company  marched  through  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city,  eliciting  the  praises  of  all  for  their 
soldierly  bearing.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  Cadets  visited  the 
camp  of  the  Second  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  on  Dexter  Train 
ing  Ground,  where  in  the  presence  of  Colonel  Slocum  (who  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  in  July  following),  they  went 
through  the  form  for  dress  parade.  After  receiving  the  con 
gratulations  of  Colonel  Slocum  and  of  his  officers,  among  whom 
were  two  sons  of  President  Sears,  the  company  marched  down 


26  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

Westminster  street  "  in  four  ranks  open  order,"  and  returned  to 
the  college.  Still  later  in  the  day,  the  Cadets  escorted  the  senior 
class  to  the  Aldrich  House,  where  the  class  supper  was  served. 

The  year  1861  gradually  wore  away.  Few  expected  that  the 
Rebellion  would  long  continue.  But  the  disasters  which  in  the 
months  of  May  and  June  (1862)  befell  our  army  before  Richmond, 
dissolved  the  dream  of  peace,  and  the  question  of  duty  became 
still  more  urgent  to  the  students.  Late  in  the  month  of  May,  1862, 
almost  as  stirring  scenes  as  those  of  April,  1861,  were  witnessed  in 
Providence.  Let  us  go  back  to  May  25th,  when,  at  midnight,  a  dis 
patch  from  the  secretary  of  war  was  received  by  the  governor  of 
Rhode  Island,  announcing  the  defeat  of  General  Banks  and  calling 
for  troops.  At  one  o'clock  A.  M.,  May  26th,  an  order  was  issued  for 
the  organization  of  the  National  Guards  for  active  service,  and  the 
next  day  the  regiment  henceforth  known  as  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island 
Volunteers,  left  Providence  for  Washington  under  the  command  of 
Lieut. -Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.  Company  B,  commanded  by  Ex-Gov. 
Elisha  Dyer,  was  recruited  almost  entirely  from  the  ranks  of  the 
several  classes  of  the  University  and  High  School.  Governor 
Dyer  says,  "  The  students  could  brook  no  restraint,  and  almost  en 
masse  came  to  our  recruiting  rendezvous  for  enrollment.  It  was  a 
source  of  the  deepest  solicitude  on  the  part  of  President  Sears  to 
know  how  far  he  was  justified  in  resisting  these  resolute  expressions 
on  the  part  of  the  young  men  who  had  been  placed  under  his  protec 
tion  and  instruction.  The  offering  would  not  have  been  too  large 
had  he  consulted  his  own  feelings  alone.  But  it  was  the  widow's  son, 
and  the  orphan's  brother,  who  desired  release.  He  came  to  me  in 
the  conflict  of  duty  and  enthusiastic  patriotism,  and  telling  me  of 


OF    "  BROWN.  27 

his  embarrassment  said,  '  If  you  yourself  will  take  these  young 
men  to  the  field,  I  can  no  longer  refuse  them.'  I  gave  the  pledge. 
The  young  men  came,  were  enrolled,  and  without  leaving  the 
armory,  entered  upon  the  duties  of  soldiers.  They  all  proved 
themselves  worthy  of  their  alma  mater,  and  the  sacred  cause  for 
which  they  enlisted.  Always  prompt,  obedient  and  efficient,  they 
won  for  themselves  an  honorable  record.  For  no  delinquency  or 
misdemeanor  did  any  name  of  theirs  ever  find  a  place  on  the 
morning  report.  On  the  muster  out  of  the  regiment,  Sept.  i, 
1862,  many  of  these  young  men  immediately  reentered  the  ser 
vice,  and  as  commissioned  officers  extended  a  record  of  which  the 
University  may  well  be  proud." 

In  our  admiration  for  President  Sears  and  the  young  men  of  the 
University  to  whom  reference  is  made  in  the  words  just  quoted,  let 
us  not  forget  that  other  son  of  the  University,  whose  pure,  self- 
sacrificing  patriotism  appears  in  his  tribute  to  the  worth  of  others  ; 
who  having  received  the  highest  honors  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  when  of  an  age  which  might  claim  exemp 
tion  from  military  duty,  cheerfully  abandoned  the  quiet  delights  of 
home  at  the  call  of  his  country,  and  took  upon  himself  the  labors 
and  responsibilities  of  a  captain  of  infantry. 

Class-day  at  Brown  occurred  June  12,  1862.  Joshua  M.  Adde- 
man,  the  class  orator,  was  at  the  time  a  private  soldier  in  the  com 
pany  and  regiment  to  which  we  have  just  referred  ;  but  obtaining 
a  short  furlough  he  returned  to  Providence  and  delivered  his  ora 
tion  on  the  appointed  clay.  His  theme  was  "The  Alliance  of 
Scholarship  and  Patriotism."  He  introduced  his  subject  with  the 
following  earnest  words  : 


28  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

"  On  this  day,  around  which  cluster  memories  and  associations 
of  the  past,  and  fond  hopes  and  anxious  forebodings  of  the  future, 
one  thought  transcends  all  others  in  importance.  As  if  embodied 
in  some  fair  form  beseeching  us  for  aid,  our  country  rises  before 
us,  and  excludes  all  minor  and  selfish  considerations.  Xo  theme 
seems  more  appropriate  to  the  day  and  of  more  vital  importance 
in  its  bearing  upon  the  future  than  "The  Alliance  of  Scholarship 
and  Patriotism."  The  orator  accordingly  proceeded  to  discuss  the 
duties  of  the  scholar  with  reference  to  the  State,  and  then  closed 
his  address  with  the  following  eloquent  words  : 

"  This  is  an  age  when  events  follow  each  other  more  rapidly 
than  in  the  prophet's  inspired  visions  ;  when  years  are  heaping  up 
more  for  history  than  centuries  of  the  past  ;  an  age  which  con 
verts  a  nation  devoted  to  peace  into  a  vast  army  bristling  with 
bayonets,  and  marching  with  serried  ranks  to  the  field  of  battle  ; 
which  summons  men  of  science  and  of  letters  from  their  experi 
ments  and  their  books,  the  lawyer  from  his  brief,  the  instructor  from 
his  pupils,  the  preacher  from  his  desk,  and  bids  them  gird  on  the 
sword,  and  hasten  to  the  defence  of  the  best,  the  freest,  the  hap 
piest  country  on  which  the  sun  ever  shone.  Obedient  to  the 
call,  classmates  have  hastened  on  before  us  to  discharge  the  pa 
triot's  duty.  In  thunder  tones  their  example  speaks  to  us  of 
courage,  of  manliness,  of  devotion  to  country.  Let  us  see  to  it  that 
we  faithfully  discharge  our  duties  as  *  ever  in  our  great  taskmaster's 
eye.'  The  benedictions  of  a  grateful  country  will  then  rest  upon 
our  labors,  and  above  all,  the  satisfaction  of  an  approving  con 
science  will  be  our  exceeding  'great  reward.' ' 


The  class  poet,  H.  F.  Colby,  sang  of  the  power  that  a  na 
tion  possesses  in  the  remembrance  of  a  glorious  past.  The  poem 
closed  with  these  thrilling  sentences  : 

"  But  these  fond  memories  in  the  present  hour 
Became  the  instruments  of  wondrous  power. 
The  guns  of  Sumter  sent  a  startling  thrill 
Through  hearts  still  mindful  of  Bunker  Hill; 
And  April's  tears  wept  o'er  a  war  begun, 
As  in  the  trying  days  of  Lexington. 
An  unseen  spirit  caught  the  flaming  brand, 
And  swept  on  lightning  wings  the  startled  land. 
'  Come  from  your  homes,  ye  free  ! '  its  trumpet  cried, 
'  Preserve  the  country  of  your  father's  pride.' 
And  from  the  North,  where  sighing  forests  rise 
In  state  primeval  to  the  bending  skies. 
From  granite  hills,  and  battle-fields  whose  sod 
The  feet  of  patriot  heroes  once  have  trod. 
From  the  bright  shores  of  Narragansett's  bay, 
Along  the  silvery  Mohawk's  wending  way, 
Soft  as  the  rippling  tide  on  Erie's  shore, 
Loud  as  the  tumult  of  Niagara's  roar, 
From  lakes  majestic,  from  the  Western  plains, 
Rich  in  the  billows  of  their  ripening  grains, — 
From  every  city's  street  and  rural  home, 
Came  up  that  single  answer  :    '  Yes,  we  come.' 
And  they  did  come.     Potomac's  wooded  banks 
Gleamed  with  the  bristling  steel  of  serried   ranks  : 
The  sentinel's  strange  voice  was  echoed  there, 
And  blazing  camp-fires  lit  the  evening  air. 
From  the  foul  dragon's  teeth  of  civil  strife 
A  numerous  army  sprung  to  active  life." 


30  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

"The  patriotic  history  of  Brown  University  during  the  War  for 
the  Union  is  one  of  which  every  student  may  well  be  proud,  and 
in  time  to  come  her  children  will  love  her  the  more  for  what  she 
was  during  the  troublous  times  through  which  the  nation  has  just 
passed." 

We  conclude  this  sketch  of  "Brown"  with  brief  tributes  to  the 
memory  of  two  of  her  loyal  sons,  who  served  in  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers  in  1862. 

MATTHEW  MCARTHUR  MEGGETT,*  class  of  1864,  son  of  Alexander 
and  Sarah  Meggett,  was  born  in  Chicopee  Falls,  Mass.,  July  24, 
1836.  The  story  of  his  life  is  but  a  simple  record  of  the  struggles 
of  a  poor  boy,  who  desired  the  benefits  of  a  liberal  education,  not 
so  much  for  the  sake  of  learning  as  to  make  it  the  means  by 
which  good  could  be  accomplished.  He  early  evinced  an  interest 
in  the  subject  of  religion,  and  deep  religious  feelings  marked  his 
whole  life.  It  is  natural  that  a  young  lad  thus  constituted,  should 
look  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  as  the  proper  sphere  for  his 
efforts  in  life,  and  that  a  Christian  mother  should  hope  to  see 
such  a  son  consecrated  to  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  office.  His 
father's  death  occurred  when  Matthew  was  but  eight  years  old,  . 
.  .  and  his  boyhood  was  necessarily  devoted  to  manual  toil,  for 
the  support  of  himself  and  of  his  aged  mother.  ...  In  the 
year  1842,  his  family  removed  to  Slatersville,  R.  I.,  where  Matthew 
was  employed  in  a  mill.  After  some  years  he  united  with  the 
Congregational  Church  in  that  place.  At  length,  in  1854,  he 
entered  Phillips'  Academy  at  Andover,  Mass.  His  letters  home 
always  evince  persevering  effort,  filial  affection  and  religious  zeal. 

*  Written  by  James  W.  Cohvell,  B.  U.,  1864. 


OF    u  BROWN."  31 

"I  am  often  discouraged,"  he  says  "when  I  see  how  much  is  to 
be  done.  I  try,  however,  to  look  at  the  bright  side,  and  am  de 
termined  to  struggle  on.  I  have  advantages  beyond  many  others, 
and  my  trust  is  in  God.  I  have  been'thinking  of  mother  to-night. 
I  hope  she  is  not  lonely.  It  often  makes  me  feel  sad  to  think 
that  I  have  to  leave  her  alone  while  I  am  here  endeavoring  to  get 
an  education."  He  entered  Brown  University  in  the  fall  of  1858. 
His  limited  means  caused  him  much  anxiety,  and  to  increase 
them  he  gave  instruction  in  the  public  evening  schools  of  Provi 
dence  during  the  first  winter.  But  these  supplies  did  not  prove 
adequate  to  his  wants,  so  that  he  remained  in  college  hardly  a 
year  at  this  time.  Two  years  were  then  passed  in  teaching, 
mostly  in  Woonsocket,  R.  I.  In  the  autumn  of  1861  he  resumed 
his  studies  at  Brown,  entering  now  the  class  of  1864.  As  at 
school,  so  in  college,  whatever  he  did  was  accomplished  by  perse 
verance  and  industry. 

From  the  first  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  Meggett  felt  it  his 
duty  to  enlist  in  the  army,  and  at  length,  near  the  close  of  his 
Sophomore  year,  when  there  came  from  the  President  another 
call  for  men,  he  decided  to  go.  Saturday,  May  24,  1862,  he  wrote 
in  his  journal  :  "  I  have  been  thinking  a  great  deal  to-day  about 
entering  the  service  with  those  who  enlist  for  three  months. 
Ex-Governor  Dyer  goes  on  with  a  fine  company  from  Providence, 
and  I  should  like  to  go  with  him.  He  will  have  none  but  moral 
men  in  his  company,  it  is  said.  I  look  upon  my  going  as  a  duty. 
I  shall  be  ashamed  to  say  that  I  contributed  nothing  by  way  of 
personal  sacrifice  toward  restoring  my  country."  A  day  or  two 
later,  having  gained  the  consent  of  his  mother,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 


32  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

On  May  2/th,  the  regiment  left  Providence,  .  .  .  and  was 
assigned  to  garrison  duty  in  the  defences  of  Washington.  Meg- 
gett  writes  to  his  brother:  "  Our  'mess'  is  mostly  made  up  of 
college  boys.  We  had  a  prayer-meeting  Sunday  afternoon,  at 
which  Captain  Dyer  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw  were  present 
and  made  remarks.  It  was  an  impressive  meeting."  In  his  last 
letter  to  his  mother,  written  before  he  was  taken  sick,  he  speaks 
of  his  return  home  with  pleasure,  and  lovingly  plans  what  he  will 
then  do  for  her  comfort  and  delight. 

On  Sunday,  August  loth,  he  went  into  the  hospital  a  sick  man. 
In  a  few  days  the  disease  assumed  a  graver  form,  and  was  pro 
nounced  by  Dr.  Wilcox  typhoid  fever,  and  he  grew  rapidly  worse 
till  the  i8th,  when  he  died,  and  a  telegram  was  sent  to  his  mother 
at  Pawtucket,  R.  I.  His  bereaved  friends  could  hardly  credit  the 
startling  intelligence  that  he  who  had  left  them  strong  and 
vigorous  had  been  cut  down  by  death  just  on  the  eve  of  his  return 
to  the  loved  ones  at  home.  The  sad  news  was  soon  verified  by  a 
letter  from  the  chaplain,  Rev.  Dr.  Clapp.  The  body  of  the  dead 
soldier  was  embalmed  and  forwarded  to  his  friends.  In  accordance 
with  the  request  of  his  company,  the  funeral  services  in  Paw- 
tucket  were  delayed  until  their  return  home. 

The  regiment  arrived  in  Providence  on  the  morning  of  Aug. 
28,  1862,  and  on  the  day  following  his  funeral  was  solemnized  in 
the  Congregational  Church,  Pawtucket.  His  comrades-in-arms 
were  present  to  take  part  in  those  last  sad  offices  of  respect  and 
affection.  His  pastor,  Dr.  Blodgett,  President  Sears,  and  the 
beloved  chaplain  of  the  Tenth  Regiment,  Dr.  Clapp,  all  bore 
cheerful  testimony  to  his  faithful,  earnest,  devoted  Christian  life. 


33 

And  yet  one  more  we  mourn  on  our  regimental  roll  of  honor, 
LEVI  CAREY  WALKER,*  class  of  1865.  He  was  born  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  Oct.  30,  1840.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  William  Carey 
and  Aimer  L.  Walker.  His  boyhood  gave  promise  of  a  well 
moulded  life.  At  seventeen  he  entered  the  Connecticut  Literary 
Institution  at  Suffield,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the  highest 
honors  of  his  class.  In  the  ensuing  fall  he  entered  Brown  Uni 
versity  with  the  class  of  i< sixty-five."  He  at  once  advanced  to  a 
high  rank  in  scholarship,  and  engaged  as  heartily  in  the  sports  of 
the  campus  as  in  the  duties  of  the  class-room  ;  he  also  identified 
himself  with  the  religious  interests  of  the  college. 

Thus  the  months  of  the  Freshman  year  rolled  away  till  May, 
'62,  came,  bringing  with  it  the  sickening  news  of  disaster  to  the 
Union  army.  On  the  25th,  at  midnight,  came  the  pressing  sum 
mons  for  troops,  and  before  the  sun  had  set  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  was  under  marching  orders. 

Here  was  the  long-sought  opportunity  for  Walker.  For  him  the 
call  had  no  uncertain  sound.  We  quote  from  his  diary : 

"  Monday,  May  26.  A  great  struggle  in  my  mind  this  morning. 
The  country  has  called  for  men.  I  want  to  go.  Cannot  consult 
my  parents.  .  .  .  Have  at  length  enlisted,  with  a  prayer  that 
God  will  help  me.  .  .  .  While  busy  packing  my  knapsack 
father  came.  He  made  no  objection  to  my  going,  but  felt  rather 
bad." 

''Tuesday,  27.  I  have  taken  an  important  step,  and  am  a  sol 
dier  of  the  United  States.  Wrote  mother.  Started  for  Washing 
ton." 

*  Written  by  James  McWhinnie,  Jr.,  class  of '67. 
5 


34  THE    COLLEGE    BOYS 

"  MY  DEAR  MOTHER  :  There  is  no  thought  connected  with  my 
enlistment  that  gives  me  so  much  pain,  as  that  I  shall  by  thus 
doing  increase  your  burden  of  anxiety  and  solicitude  on  my 
account.  ...  I  have  studied  to  make  myself  worthy  of  your 
affection  and  your  sacrifices.  I  know  I  have  often  erred,  but  as 
often  have  I  repented.  I  do  not  wish  to  go  to  Washington  with 
out  your  full,  free  hearty  consent.  .  .  .  Never  would  I  stir 
one  foot  against  your  wishes.  But  mother,  many  parents  have 
given  up  their  dear  ones  to  bleed,  yes,  die  in  their  country's  cause. 
Many  have  gone  forth  from  the  paternal  roof  as  dear  and  better 
fitted  for  life  or  death  than  I;  and  can  you  hesitate?  I  should 
think  your  bosom  would  swell  with  pride  at  the  thought  that  you 
were  represented  in  your  country's  struggle  for  liberty." 

On  the  morning  of  May  3Oth  the  regiment  marched  to  Tenally- 
town,  the  sun  pouring  down  its  hottest  rays.  In  his  journal 
Walker  writes :  "Am  somewhat  lame  after  the  long  march. 
Spent  the  day  hard  at  work  pitching  tents  and  throwing  up  em 
bankments.  Have  been  transferred  with  others  to  Company  K, 
Capt.  G.  Frank  Low." 

We  find  the  first  record  of  illness  on  Thursday,  June  5th,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  having  had  a  serious  hemorrhage. 

June  27th  the  regiment  marched  to  Cloud's  Mills,  eighteen  miles 
distant.  Twelve  miles  Walker  marched  with  the  rest,  but  was 
then  compelled  to  seek  the  ambulance.  The  regiment  remained 
there  for  a  short  time,  when  it  returned  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  forts  on  the  northwest  of  Washington,  marching  nearly  all 
night. 


35 

The  fatigue  of  this  weary  march  broke  down  Walker  completely. 
The  dreaded  hemorrhages  again  commenced,  and  he  began  to  fear 
for  his  life.  We  read  in  his  journal  : 

"Monday,  July  28.     Reported  at  the  hospital." 
"Thursday,  August  4th.     I   feel  very  sad!     The  doctor  gives 
me  no  encouragement.     Life  with  its  bright  prospects  to  be  given 
up!     I  can  hardly  curb  my  feelings.     .     .     .     To  be  cut   down  so 
young !     O,  God,  I  look  to  Thee  !  " 

In  a  few  days  the  Tenth  was  on  its  way  to  Providence,  bearing 
the  sick,  discouraged  soldier  to  his  yearning  friends. 

The  last  entry  in  his  journal  was  on  Thursday,  August  28th  : 

"  Arrived  this  morning  at  Providence,  both  glad  and  sad.  Sad 
that  I  was  not  able  to  march  with  my  company — a  deep  disap 
pointment." 

Such  is  the  brief  military  career  of  Levi  Carey  Walker.  He 
went  to  the  field  with  as  lofty  a  patriotism  as  ever  inspired  a 
Union  soldier.  He  returned  a  mere  wreck  of  his  former  self. 
Still  he  lived  on,  battling  with  a  fatal  disease,  till  Feb.  23,  1865, 
when  the  end  came.  The  last  words  in  his  journal  are:  "How 
have  my  hopes  been  blasted  !  Yet  I  thank  God  my  trust  is  still 
firm  in  Him."  His  remains  were  borne  to  the  cemetery  by  his 
classmates,  and  tenderly  committed  to  their  last  resting-place. 
.  .  .  He  had  not  been  permitted  to  go  down  in  the  bloody 
strife,  but  he  gave  to  the  country  a  youth  and  life  full  of  ail  noble 
promise  as  truly  as  the  slumbering  hero  of  Stone  River  or  of  the 
Wilderness. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 


£  {  rr^HE  people  of  Rhode  Island  are  showing  themselves  to  be  eminently  a 
1  military  people.  They  have  promptly  done  all  that  the  government 
has  asked  of  them  for  carrying  on  the  Avar,  and  they  have  besides  a  large  and 
efficient  army  organized  for  home  service  known  as  '  The  National  Guard  of 
Rhode  Island.'  The  martial  spirit  of  the  state  is  wisely  encouraged  and  sys 
tematically  directed  by  men  of  practical  military  ability,  and,  as  the  result,  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island  is  better  able  to  furnish  her  quota  of  troops  for  service 
abroad,  and  altogether  better  prepared  to  meet  possible  emergencies  at  home 
than  are  any  of  her  neighbors." 

Nov.  21,  1861.  New  London   Chronicle. 


RHODE  ISLAND  NATIONAL  GUARD. 


"  For  we  will  guard  it  with  our  lives, 

And  keep  our  armor  handy, 
And  sing  the  song  our  fathers  sang 
Of  Yankee  Doodle  Dandy!  " 

— E \-May or    Win.   AI.  Rodman, 

THERE  was  a  sad  lack  of  military  education  and  organi 
zation  in  1 86 1,  when  the  President  called  for  75,000  men 
to  serve  for  three  months  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Re 
bellion.  Yet  the  noble  response  showed  that  the  heart  of  the  na 
tion  was  loyal  and  true.  Rhode  Island  was  the  first  to  offer  the 
services  of  her  citizens,  and,  after  furnishing  her  full  quota,  she 
was  the  first  to  organize  her  National  Guard. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  with  such  a  history  as  Rhode  Island 
has,  the  idea  should  have  early  suggested  itself  of  thoroughly  or 
ganizing  and  arming  the  entire  able-bodied  population,  and  put 
ting  the  State  on  a  war  footing,  so  that  if,  in  crushing  the  Rebel 
lion,  disaster  should  come,  the  State  could  do  what  no  other  State 
has  done,  have  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms,  a  soldier,  ready 
for  the  emergency. 

Standing  in  the  armory  of  the  First  Light  Infantry,  the  night 
before  the  departure  of  the  First  Regiment,  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  a 
young  officer  who  afterward  distinguished  himself  both  in  the 
State  and  national  volunteer  service,  said  to  William  S.  Hayward, 


38  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

of  the  Sixth  Ward,  and  since  mayor  of  the  city,  "  We  don't  know 
how  soon  the  rest  of  us  may  have  to  go  ;  why  not  form  ward  com 
panies,  as  they  did  in  1842,  and  learn  to  drill  ?  Call  a  meeting  in 
our  ward  and  I  will  do  what  I  can  to  help  you."  This  suggestion, 
thus  early  made,  was  heartily  approved,  and  acted  upon,  and  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  for  organization,  was  held  on  Thursday 
evening,  May  Qth,  who  voted  to  form  a  company  for  military  drill, 
appointed  a  committee  to  nominate  officers,  and  adjourned  to  Tues 
day  evening,  May  14,  1861.  At  that  meeting  Hon.  Henry  T. 
Grant,  alderman  of  the  ward,  was  elected  captain  ;  James  Shaw,  Jr., 
first  lieutenant  ;  James  A.  Winsor,  second  lieutenant  ;  Thomas 
M.  Brown,  third  lieutenant,  and  Hopkins  B.  Cacly,  first  sergeant. 
Eighty  men  enrolled  their  names  and  a  drill  followed. 

Meanwhile  the  following  notice  had  been  posted  in  the  First 
Ward:  "  We,  the  undersigned,  of  the  First  Ward,  feeling  that 
the  present  state  of  the  country  demands  that  every  man  of  suit 
able  age  should  be  prepared  for  any  emergency,  agree  to  meet  two 
evenings  in  the  week  for  the  purpose  of  being  thoroughly  drilled 
by  a  competent  military  man,  to  be  hereafter  selected.  All  who 
wish  to  sign  the  above  paper  can  do  so  by  calling  at  Sweet  &  An- 
gell's." 

Wednesday,  May  i,  1861,  the  First  Ward  Drill  Corps  organ 
ized  with  A.  Crawford  Greene  as  captain.  Seventy  men  were  in 
line  who  commenced  drilling  that  night  in  "the  school  of  the 
soldier." 

April  23d.  The  Old  Guard,  Providence  Artillery,  was  organ 
ized,  100  strong. 

April  25th.     The  Old  Guard,  First  Light  Infantry,  was  formed. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  39 

April  26th.  The  "Cadets"  invite  all  citizens  who  choose,  to 
meet  with  them  and  become  acquainted  with  "the  school  of  the 
soldier." 

The  towns  of  the  State  also  were  prompt  to  move  in  the  matter. 

April  23d.  The  Narragansett  Guards,  of  South  Kingstown,  were 
organized  with  130  men.  Colonel,  Isaac  P.  Rodman;  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  John  N.  Hazard. 

April  2/th.  The  Pavvtucket  Home  Guard  Company  was  started, 
followed  May  1st  by  the  Natick  Home  Company,  and  May  Qth  by 
the  Smithfield  Company. 

May  loth  the  following  Fifth  Ward  notice  appeared  in  the  Jour 
nal  :  "  Fifth  Ward. — Citizens  desiring  to  organize  a  company  for 
drill  will  meet  in  the  Ward  Room  on  Richmond  street,  on  Mon 
day  evening  next.  Capt.  James  C.  Hidden  has  consented  to  serve 
as  drill-master.  Mr.  Stephen  Horton  desires  to  be  the  first  'high 
private.'  All  patriots  between  the  ages  of  14  and  65  are  requested 
to  come  forward."  The  company  was  afterward  organized  with 
Stephen  H.  Hall  as  captain. 

The  same  day  the  employes  of  the  Corliss  Steam  Engine  Works 
formed  a  company. 

May  1 6th.  The  Home  Light  Guard,  Capt.  Jacob  Dunnell,  of 
Pawtucket,  organized  with  one  hundred  solid  men,  consisting  of 
citizens  of  middle  age.  Arms  and  uniforms  have  been  supplied. 

May  1 6th.  The  Slater  Drill  Corps,  Capt.  Henry  F.  Smith,  Paw- 
tucket,  was  formed  with  seventy-five  members,  mainly  young  men. 

June  24th.  Cudworth's  Zouaves  were  organized  in  Pawtucket 
by  a  company  of  young  men,  who  will  exercise  in  the  Zouave 
drill.  Jesse  Cudworth,  Jr.,  captain. 


4O  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

June  i  ith.  The  Burnside  Zouaves  were  organized  in  Providence. 
Colonel,  S.  Smith  Wells ;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  H.  Herbert  Shel 
don  ;  Major,  George  T.  Paine;  Captain,  William  W.  Paine ;  Lieu 
tenant,  Nicholas  B.  Bolles ;  Adjutant,  Thomas  W.  Chace  ;  Quar 
termaster,  George  H.  Potter;  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  Asa  Lyman. 
Among  the  corporals  appear  the  names  of  George  A.  Winchester 
and  Charles  F.  Anthony.  A  uniform  was  adopted  consisting  of  a 
blue  jacket,  trimmed  with  orange,  full  red  pants,  gathered  at  the 
ankle,  with  a  drab  gaiter,  a  blue  mixed  undershirt,  faced  with  red, 
and  a  white  forage  cap,  trimmed  with  red. 

July  4th  was  celebrated  with  a  spirit  worthy  of  Independence 
Day.  In  Providence  Col.  A.  Crawford  Greene  was  chief  mar 
shal  of  the  procession,  which  comprised,  among  other  organiza 
tions  the  First  Ward  Home  Guards,  Major  Burlingame ;  Uni 
versity  Cadets,  Captain  Mason  (Brown  University)  ;  Ellsworth 
Phalanx,  Captain  Lyman  (  High  School).  In  Warren,  R.  I., 
George  Lewis  Cooke,  afterwards  the  genial  quartermaster  of  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  regiments,  and  major  of  the  Ninth,  delivered  an 
interesting  address  at  the  raising  of  "the  Stars  and  Stripes"  on 
the  High  School  building. 

Sunday,  July  28th,  marked  the  brilliant  reception  of  the  First 
Regiment  returning  with  Colonel  Burnside  from  the  seat  of  war. 
Among  the  receiving  companies  were  the  Burnside  Zouaves,  Col. 
S.  Smith  Wells  ;  Mechanics  Rifles,  Col.  Jonathan  M.  Wheeler  ; 
First  Ward  Home  Guards,  Major  Burlingame;  Old  Guard  Light 
Infantry,  Gen.  James  Shaw  ;  Pawtucket  Light  Guard,  Col.  Olney 
Arnold  ;  Pawtucket  Home  Guard,  Capt.  Jacob  Dunnell.  The  reg 
iment  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm  by  our  citizens. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  4! 

August  6th,  the  Burnside  Zouaves  made  an  excursion  to  Smith's 
Palace,  escorting  Col.  Ambrose  E.  Burnside  from  his  residence  to 
the  steamer.  They  numbered  about  eighty,  rank  and  file.  Gov 
ernor  Sprague  was  also  one  of  the  guests  of  the  day,  and,  in  a  brief 
address,  congratulated  the  corps  for  the  soldierly  bearing  of  its 
members.  It  gave  him  great  pleasure,  he  said,  to  see  so  many 
young  men  striving  to  perfect  themselves  in  military  science. 
There  was  a  sad  lack  of  that  education  which  was  demanded  by 
the  present  crisis,  and  he  trusted  the  country  would  never  be 
found  so  lamentably  deficient  again.  The  people  had  come  to 
realize  that  an  efficient  militia  must  be  maintained.  Our  precious 
and  dearest  rights  are  in  jeopardy;  let  us  prepare  to  defend 
them. 

August  /th.  Lieut.  John  P.  Shaw  (a  brother  of  James  Shaw, 
Jr.,)  left  Providence  for  the  front,  with  recruits  for  the  Second 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers.  This  gallant  officer  lost  his  life  in  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May  12,  1864. 

September  6th.  Meetings  were  held  this  evening  in  four  of  the 
wards  of  the  city,  and  in  Cranston,  to  promote  the  organization 
of  drill  corps. 

At  the  First  Ward  meeting  patriotic  addresses  were  made  by 
the  chairman,  Alexander  Duncan,  Esq.,  Judge  Thomas  Durfee, 
Hon.  Caesar  A.  Updike,  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Thurston,  Noble  W. 
De  Munn,  and  others.  The  meeting  adjourned  to  Monday  evening, 
September  Qth,  when  the  military  organization  was  effected  and 
the  drill  commenced. 

An  interesting  meeting  was  held  the  same  evening  in  the 
Second  Ward  of  citizens  in  favor  of  one  or  more  companies  for 

6 


42  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

military  drill.  Stirring  addresses  were  made  by  Senator  Anthony, 
Samuel  Currey,  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Jenckes,  John  F.  Tobey,  and 
others.  The  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee  to  report  on  the 
loth  instant,  when  the  organization  was  effected  with  Col.  Stephen 
T.  Olney  for  captain,  and  Sergeant  Dunham,  of  the  Infantry,  for 
drill  master,  meetings  to  be  held  in  Franklin  Hall.  In  this  company 
the  venerable  teacher,  John  Kingsbury,  carried  his  musket  as  lightly 
as  a  boy,  and  was  not  alone  in  the  patriotic  example  thus  set. 

A  spirited  meeting  was  also  held  in  the  Third  Ward  the  same 
evening.  Addresses  were  made  by  Speaker  Caesar  A.  Updike, 
Benjamin  N.  Lapham  and  Abraham  Payne.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  procure  hall,  muskets,  etc.  The  company  organized 
on  the  1 3th  instant  after  addresses  by  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Thurston, 
Rev.  Augustus  Woodbury  and  Col.  Nicholas  Van  Slyck. 

Another  meeting  was  held  at  this  time  in  the  Fifth  Ward  with 
Hon.  Thomas  A.  Doyle,  chairman.  He  stated  that  the  object  of 
the  meeting  was  the  formation  of  a  new  military  organization  in 
the  ward,  the  previous  one  having  failed  through  the  refusal  of 
the  authorities  to  provide  arms.  The  war  spirit  must  be  revived 
and  kept  up.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp  expressed  his  sympathy  with 
the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  placed  his  name  upon  the  rolls. 
"We  have  allowed  ourselves  to  be  taken  unawares,"  he  said,  "but 
it  is  now  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  acquire  that  skill  in  the  use 
of  arms  which  we  have  forgotten  by  disuse."  The  venerable  Dea 
con  Greene  also  joined  the  company.  Stephen  H.  Hall  was  again 
chosen  captain. 

In  the  Sixth  Ward  Company,  Captain  H.  T.  Grant  resigned 
and  First  Lieut.  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  was  elected  captain. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  43 

A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  Seventh  Ward  was  very  fully 
attended  the  same  evening.  Hon.  Amos  C.  Barstow  was  chosen 
chairman.  Stirring  addresses  were  made  by  John  Eddy,  Rev.  Mr. 
White,  and  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Thurston.  It  was  voted  to  form  a 
military  company.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  George  B.  Thomas 
was  elected  captain ;  Henry  W.  Gardner  and  Jeremiah  M.  Vose, 
lieutenants.  Drill  meetings,  Monday  and  Friday  evenings. 

September  nth,  the  Home  Battery  was  formed.  About  sixty 
men  were  drilled  by  Capt.  William  H.  Parkhurst.  First  lieuten 
ant,  Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.  ;  second  lieutenant,  J.  Henry  Wil 
bur ;  clerk,  E.  S.  Cheney. 

September  I3th,  the  Washington  Continentals  were  organized  at 
the  armory  of  the  Providence  Artillery,  Captain,  Westcott  Handy. 

September  i6th.  At  the  First  Ward  adjourned  meeting  a  home 
guard  company  was  organized,  to  meet  Monday  and  Wednesday 
evenings  for  drill  at  the  armory  of  the  First  Ward  Light  Guards. 

September  iQth,  a  meeting  of  the  State  Military  Committee 
was  held  in  Providence  to  devise  some  feasible  mode  of  organiz 
ing  drill  corps  in  the  various  towns  and  cities  of  the  State.  Gov 
ernor  Sprague  was  chairman  of  the  meeting.  Able  addresses 
were  made  by  Colonels  Henry  Howard  and  N.  Van  Slyck,  and  by 
Rev.  A.  H.  Clapp,  urging  the  thorough  organization  of  the  entire 
population  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  the  cultivation  of  a  proper 
military  spirit.  A  committee  of  five  was  appointed,  to  report  at  a 
future  meeting,  as  follows  :  His  Excellency  Governor  Sprague, 
Colonels  Olney  Arnold,  H.  Howard,  W.  W.  Browne,  and  Nicholas 
Van  Slyck.  An  adjourned  meeting  was  held  on  Saturday  morning, 
2 1st  instant,  at  Franklin  Hall,  with  Alexander  Duncan  chairman. 


44  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

The  committee  of   five    made    the   following    report  which   was 
adopted  .in  full  : 

"The  committee  respectfully  report  the  following  recommendations  : 

"That  it  is  desirable  that  the  formation  of  volunteer  associations  or  compa 
nies  for  military  instruction  be  hastened  in  all  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  State, 
and  all  able-bodied  citizens,  without  distinction  of  age,  or  regardless  of  business 
engagements,  urged  to  enroll  themselves  in  some  one  of  the  companies. 

"  That  men  of  wealth  throughout  the  State  contribute  liberally  toward  defraying 
the  expenses  attending  the  organization  and  maintenance  of  these  associations, 
and  that  men  of  influence  should  give  every  possible  encouragement  to  the 
work. 

"  That  the  subject  of  a  uniform  be  left  entirely  to  each  company  to  decide  for 
itself,  your  committee  earnestly  recommending  a  cheap  uniform. 

"  That  said  companies  be  enrolled,  placed,  and  governed,  and  their  officers  ap 
pointed  and  commissioned,  according  to  the  provisions  of  sections  8,  9,  and  10, 
of  chapter  232,  of  the  Revised  Statutes. 

"  That  a  military  committee  be  appointed,  with  power  to  fill  vacancies,  whose 
duties  it  shall  be  to  take  measures  for  the  formation  of  volunteer  drill  companies 
throughout  the  State;  to  provide  such  regulations  for  them  as  they  may  deem 
suitable,  and  to  exercise  a  general  supervision  over  them.  That  said  committee 
have  power  to  appoint  a  secretary  or  clerk,  and  to  select  a  corresponding  mem 
ber  from  each  town  of  the  State  and  from  each  ward  in  the  City  of  Providence. 

"  That  the  following  gentlemen  constitute  the  said  Military  Central  Commit 
tee  :  William  Sprague,  Providence;  William  T.  Barton,  Warren;  George  W, 
Hallett,  Providence;  Peleg  W.  Lippitt,  Cumberland;  William  Goddard,  War 
wick;  Joseph  P.  Balch,  Providence;  Henry  Staples,  Barrington ;  Walter  S. 
Burges,  Cranston;  T.  W.  Wood,  Newport;  Horace  Babcock,  Westerly; 
Thomas  A.  Doyle,  Providence;  Henry  Howard,  Coventry;  Olney  Arnold, 
North  Providence." 

Rev.  Frederick  Denison,  of  Central  Falls,  spoke  of  the  influ 
ence  such  organizations  exerted.  In  Pawtucket  and  the  adjoining 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  45 

villages  the  companies  which  had  been  formed  had  prepared  many 
for  the  active  regiments  of  the  State,  and  deeply  stirred  the  patri 
otic  feelings  of  the  entire  community.  He  hoped  the  subject 
would  be  pressed  till  every  village  should  have  its  drill  corps,  and 
every  citizen  capable  of  bearing  arms  should  be  practiced  in  their 
use.  Bishop  Clark  said  :  "We  need  an  immense  reserve  force. 
The  entire  physical  force  of  the  State  should  be  trained  to  back  up 
its  moral  force.  Our  own  State  has  been  exalted,  very  much  so, 
throughout  the  land.  Wherever  you  go  you  hear  the  praises  of 
Rhode  Island.  Our  honor  and  prestige  must  be  maintained. 
Let  us  organize  ourselves  and  hold  our  State  in  readiness  for  any 
emergency.  If  reverses  come,  if,  unfortunately,  our  arms  should 
be  beaten  back,  let  us  have  a  reserve  force  to  fall  back  upon." 

September  24th,  an  important  military  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Fourth  Ward  in  Unity  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  drill 
corps.  Hon.  Elisha  Dyer  was  elected  chairman.  Charles  F. 
Phillips  and  George  W.  Prentice  were  chosen  secretaries.  The 
following  resolution  was  adopted  : 

"  WHEREAS,  The  gigantic  efforts  put  forth  by  the  misguided  and  rebellious 
South  in  its  attempt  to  overthrow  and  destroy  the  just  and  beneficent  Union  of 
the  United  States,  renders  it  imperative  upon  every  citizen  able  to  shoulder  a 
musket  to  familiarize  himself  at  once  with  the  manual  of  arms,  thus  forming, 
as  it  were,  a  school  of  instruction  and  a  power  of  reserve,  it  is,  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  the  Fourth  ward,  animated  with  but  one  senti 
ment  and  one  impulse  in  the  perpetuation  and  unity  of  the  States,  and  believ 
ing  '  the  gods  help  only  those  who  help  themselves,'  do  hereby  resolve  to  aid, 
encourage  and  unite  in  the  formation  of  the  Fourth  Ward  Home  Guards,  thus 
assuring  our  sister  wards  that  "  the  Fourth  "  gallantly  and  cheerfully  closes  up 
the  column. 


46  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

Hon.  Nicholas  Van  Slyck,  in  an  eloquent  address,  showing  the 
advantage  and  utility  of  these  home  organizations,  said  :  "  If 
disaster  should  fall,  as  possibly  it  may,  upon  our  army,  and  the 
enemy  should  pass  the  Potomac,  then  will  these  drill  corps  become 
the  stay  of  the  government  and  the  hope  of  the  nation."  Hon. 
William  W.  Hoppin  and  Rev.  Augustus  Woodbury  followed,  both 
urging  the  importance  of  ward  organization.  Sixty-three  names 
were  enrolled.  The  entire  third  story  of  the  Calender  building 
was  offered  for  a  drill-room.  Lieut.  Charles  F.  Phillips  wrote  : 
"  Ex-Gov.  Elisha  Dyer  was  elected  captain,  and  at  the  following 
meeting  more  than  a  hundred  men  were  in  line,  including  two  ex- 
governors,  a  prominent  clergyman,  besides  merchants,  bankers,  and 
citizens,  generally.  Captain  Dyer  was  a  painstaking  drill-master, 
fond  of  quoting  Colonel  Brown,  of  the  Infantry,  as  supreme  mili 
tary  authority,  was  exceedingly  popular  with  his  men,  and  the  per 
sonification  of  the  soldier  and  gentleman.  Settees  were  provided 
for  the  ladies,  who  rallied  in  large  numbers,  regardless  of  the 
weather.  After  the  severe  drill  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  order 
to  'Break  ranks'  was  obeyed  with  alacrity,  and  our  caterer,  'Gil 
Rawson,'  was  made  doubly  happy  by  the  grand  rush  for  his  hot 
coffee  and  the  'fixins,'  of  which  there  was  always  an  abundance. 
Refreshments  over,  'John  Brown'  and  other  patriotic  songs  were 
sung,  the  ladies  heartily  joining." 

Thursday,  September  26th,  a  meeting  of  the  State  Central 
Military  Committee  was  held  in  Franklin  Hall  at  10.30  A.  M., 
Wednesday,  September  25th,  Colonel  Hallet  in  the  chair.  Repre 
sentatives  from  sixteen  towns  reported  1,930  men,  who  have  already 
attached  themselves  to  the  new  volunteer  organizations. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  47 

The  following  circular  was  adopted  by  the  Committee: 

The  State  Central  Military  Committee,  who  have  in  charge  the 
organization  of  the  volunteer  drill  corps  in  this  State,  have  de 
cided  upon  the  following  rules  and  orders  : 

Formation  of  Companies.  It  is  particularly  directed  that  every 
town  and  city  in  the  State  should  immediately  organize  one  or 
more  military  companies,  of  not  less  than  60  and  not  more  than 
100,  rank  and  file,  to  be  called,  "  The  National  Guard  of  Rhode 
Island"  In  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  the  volunteers  should, 
if  practicable,  unite  to  form  together  a  full  company. 

Officers.  Each  company  shall  elect  one  captain  and  three  lieu 
tenants,  who  will  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  according  to 
the  provisions  of  sections  8,  9,  and  10  of  chapter  232  of  the  Re 
vised  Statutes  ;  also,  five  sergeants  and  eight  corporals,  who  will 
be  appointed  by  the  commanding  officer.  The  commanding  officer 
of  each  company  will  report  to  the  Secretary  of  this  Committee 
as  soon  as  said  company  is  organized,  the  names  of  his  lieuten 
ants,  the  number  of  men  who  hold  themselves  ready  to  parade  at 
one  day's  notice,  and  the  number  of  arms  and  equipments,  if  any, 
now  in  his  possession. 

The  Committee  particularly  request  that  the  names  of  no  men 
be  registered  as  members  of  the  volunteers  who  intend  to  parade 
with  any  of  the  chartered  companies. 

Smaller  bodies  of  men  may  be  organized  under  the  command  of 
a  first  lieutenant. 

The  Drill.  The  drill  of  the  companies  will  be  strictly  the  United 
States  infantry  tactics  for  the  musket,  as  promulgated  by  the  Sec 
retary  of  War  in  the  United  States  Tactics,  published  May  I,  1861. 


48  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

Uniforms.  The  uniform  of  the  Volunteers  shall  consist  of  a 
blue  army  cap,  dark  blue  tunic  and  light  blue  pants. 

Arms  and  Equipments.  As  soon  as  the  roll  of  the  company  is 
full,  the  Commandant  will  apply  to  the  Secretary  of  this  Commit 
tee  for  the  necessary  arms  and  equipments. 

Object  of  tJie  Organization.  Every  true  patriot  must  readily 
perceive  that  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  present  crisis 
for  Rhode  Island  to  have,  in  addition  to  the  force  sent  into  the 
field,  a  "power  of  reserve." 

This  volunteer  organization  is  the  school  of  the  citizen  soldier. 
Men  acquire,  both  as  officers  and  privates,  a  knowledge  of  military 
drill  and  tactics.  It  generates  a  military  spirit,  at  home  and 
abroad,  so  that  should  the  occasion  call  upon  us  to  defend  our  own 
soil,  or,  as  is  more  probable,  should  any  of  us  wish  to  enlist  with 
the  noble  band  who  have  gone  forth  to  MEET  the  foes  of  our 
country,  we  shall  find  ourselves  ready. 

We  call  upon  every  able-bodied  man  in  Rhode  Island  who  is  not 
attached  to  any  other  military  company,  to  become  a  member  of 
this  organization,  and  give  it  his  personal  presence  and  support. 

Let  it  be  manifest  that  the  patriotism  which  was  sealed  by  the 
blood  of  our  fathers  in  the  American  Revolution,  is  alive  to-day, 
and  that  WE  stand  ready  to  defend  and  support  the  Union,  the 
Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  our  country. 

WM.   SPRAGUE, 

President  State  Central  Military  Committee. 
WM.   E.   HAMLIN, 

Secretary. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  49 

November  7th.  Several  of  the  companies  of  the  National  Guard 
of  Providence  paraded  this  afternoon  on  the  Dexter  Training 
Ground  for  battalion  drill.  The  line  was  formed  at  3.30  P.  M.  by 
Captain  Dunham,  acting  adjutant,  and  Lieut.  C.  S.  Sweet,  acting 
sergeant-major.  The  following  companies  were  present :  Second 
Ward,  Capt.  Charles  H.  Dunham ;  Fourth  Ward,  Capt.  Elisha 
Dyer;  Fifth  Ward,  Capt.  Stephen  H.  Hall;  Sixth  Ward,  Capt. 
Hopkins  B.  Cady,  and  the  Washington  Continentals,  Captain 
Westcott  Handy.  Acting  Colonel  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  assumed  the 
command,  receiving  the  customary  honors  as  he  took  the  position. 
The  battalion  was  then  exercised  in  various  field  movements  and 
acquitted  itself  very  creditably.  At  a  little  past  five  the  line 
broke  into  column  and  moved  from  the  parade  down  High  and 
Westminster  streets,  under  escort  of  the  Horse  Guards,  Colonel 
Hallett.  Colonel  Shaw  was  much  gratified  at  the  success  of  the 
exhibition.  He  had  long  advocated  the  formation  of  battalions 
and  the  learning  of  battalion  drill,  and  had  made  several  trials 
with  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Ward  companies.  The  Journal  said, 
"The  exhibition  was,  on  the  whole,  very  successful,  and  it  will 
not  be  long  before  our  people  will  possess  enough  of  the  military 
spirit  and  drill  to  gather,  if  necessary,  a  magnificent  army  of  a 
million  men.  No  effort  should  be  spared  to  enlist  in  the  State 
National  Guard  every  able-bodied  man.  His  Excellency  the 
Governor  enters  warmly  into  the  scheme,  and  has  been  untiring 
in  his  efforts  to  secure  its  accomplishment,  until  almost  daily, 
throughout  the  State,  fully  seven  thousand  men  have  been  under 
drill,  and  the  name,  'The  National  Guard  of  Rhode  Island/  has 
been  adopted." 

7 


5<3  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

Another  parade  and  drill  of  the  Providence  Guards  occurred 
Thursday,  November  2ist.  Five  companies  participated,  with 
James  Shaw,  Jr.,  colonel;  Charles  H.  Dunham,  major;  G.Frank 
Low,  adjutant ;  and  Charles  J.  Sweet,  sergeant-major.  It  has  been 
finally  decided  by  the  military  authorities  that  there  shall  be  a 
parade  and  review  of  the  entire  volunteer  and  militia  forces  of  the 
State,  on  Saturday,  November  3Oth. 

December  2d.  There  was  a  grand  parade  and  review  of  the 
reserve  military  forces  of  the  State,  on  Saturday,  November  3Oth. 

The  day  was  cold  and  stormy ;  still  about  two  thousand  men 
were  in  line.  The  First  Brigade  was  commanded  by  Brig. -Gen. 
Charles  T.  Robbins,  as  follows  :  Providence  Horse  Guards,  Home 
Battery  Light  Artillery;  First  Regiment  under  the  command  of 
Col.  William  W.  Brown  ;  Second  Regiment  under  the  command 
of  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  aided  by  the  following  officers  :  Lieut. - 
Col.  Charles  H.  Merriman,  Major  Charles  H.  Dunham,  Adjut. 
G.  Frank  Low,  Sergt. -Major  Charles  J.  Sweet.  The  companies 
were  :  American  Brass  Band,  eighteen  pieces  ;  Burnside  Zouaves, 
Capt.  H.  Herbert  Sheldon  ;  First  Ward  National  Guards,  Capt. 
A.  Crawford  Greene ;  Second  Ward,  Lieut.  Wm.  S.  Smith  ; 
Third  Ward,  Capt.  Wm.  M.  Hale ;  Fourth  Ward,  Capt.  Elisha 
Dyer;  Fifth  Ward,  Capt.  Stephen  H.  Hall;  Sixth  Ward,  Capt. 
Hopkins  B.  Cady ;  Seventh  Ward,  Capt.  Charles  R.  Dennis  ; 
Washington  Continentals,  Capt.  Westcott  Handy,  and  the  Ells 
worth  Phalanx,  Capt.  Daniel  W.  Lyman  (High  School). 

The  Second  Brigade  was  commanded  by  Brig.  Gen.  Wm.  T. 
Barton,  with  Capt.  Jacob  Dunnell,  aide-de-camp,  and  Major  Chris 
topher  Duckworth  brigade  major  and  inspector,  as  follows  :  Third 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  51 

Regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Olney  Arnold;  Pawtucket  Light 
Guard,  Co.  A,  Capt.  Robert  McCloy;  Pawtucket  Light  Guard, 
Co.  B,  Capt.  Jesse  Cudworth,  Jr. ;  Woonsocket  Guards,  Captain 
Steere,  33  men  ;  Pawtucket  National  Guard,  Lieutenant  Bliss  ; 
Woonsocket  National  Guards,  Capt.  C.  L.  Watson ;  Lonsdale 
National  Guard,  Capt.  Geo.  Kilburn  ;  Georgiaville  National  Guard, 
Capt.  Edward  Steere ;  Johnston  National  Guard,  Capt.  George 
Harris  ;  North  Scituate  National  Guard,  Capt.  Moses  F.  Roberts  ; 
Slatersville  National  Guard,  Capt.  Isaac  Place  ;  Slatersville  Union 
Guard,  Capt.  Philip  P.  Hall;  Slater  Drill  Corps,  Pawtucket, 
Capt.  Henry  F.  Smith  ;  Cranston.  National  Guard,  Capt.  Albert 
C.  Howard. 

Fourth  Regiment,  Col.  Nicholas  Van  Slyck  ;  Kentish  Artillery, 
Apponaug  National  Guards,  Capt.  Caleb  Westcott ;  Kentish  Guards, 
Capt.  E.  H.  Gardiner ;  Pettaquamscot  Infantry,  Capt.  Jervis  Per 
kins  ;  Narragansett  Guards,  Capt.  L.  H.  Arnold;  East  Greenwich 
National  Guards,  Capt.  George  W.  S.  Allen  ;  Old  Warwick  Na 
tional  Guards,  Capt.  Christopher  Wilcox. 

The  line  was  reviewed  by  the  governor  between  twelve  and 
one  P.  M.,  after  which  the  division  moved  down  Broadway,  through 
the  principal  streets,  to  Exchange  place,  arriving  about  four  p.  M. 
The  parade  was  then  dismissed,  and  a  collation  was  served  in 
Howard  and  Phoenix  Halls. 

The  exhibition  was  so  satisfactory  that  His  Excellency  the 
governor  issued  an  order  returning  his  thanks  to  the  Rhode  Island 
National  Guard  for  their  patriotism  and  determination  to  uphold 
the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  honor  of  the  government.  The 
document  is  as  follows  : 


52  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

HEADQUARTERS  COMDR. -IN-CHIEF  OF  MILITIA, 
STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  &c.,  PROVIDENCE,  Dec.  2,  1861. 

To  THE  NATIONAL  GUARD  : 

The  commander-in-chief  congratulates  the  National  Guard  of  Rhode  Island 
on  their  successful  review  of  Saturday,  the  3oth  ult.  He  thanks  the  Military 
Committee  and  the  officers  and  men  comprising  this  organization  for  exhibit 
ing  to  the  State  and  to  the  country  that  Rhode  Island  has  far  more  defenders  of 
our  sacred  cause  at  home  than  she  has  yet  sent  into  the  field.  This  display  of 
patriotism  and  zeal  is  encouraging  and  cheering  to  her  brave  sons  now  in  the 
service,  and  a  warning  to  foreign  foes  who  would  trifle  with  a  people  now  mak 
ing  superhuman  efforts  to  preserve  the  rights  and  sustain  the  honor  of  a  free 
government.  It  also  signifies  to  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  direction  of 
our  national  affairs  that  no  cause  will  be  permitted  to  intervene  to  prevent  an 
energetic  and  determined  prosecution  of  the  contest  to  which  the  whole  heart 
of  this  great  people  is  devoted.  Rhode  Island  was  the  first  to  offer  the  services 
of  her  citizens  in  defence  of  the  government  and  the  Union.  She  was  first  to 
organize  her  National  Guard.  She  will  be  the  last  to  lay  down  her  arms,  nor 
will  she  do  so  till  secession  and  rebellion  shall  have  been  subdued;  till  foreign 
powers  shall  have  learned  to  respect  our  rights;  till  those  have  been  taught  to 
become  good  and  loyal  citizens,  who,  for  party  purposes  or  personal  gain, 
would  stay  the  progress  of  the  great  work;  till  rebels  and  traitors  shall  flee  the 

wrath  of  an  outraged  and  indignant  people. 

WM.  SPRAGUE. 

December  23d.  An  adjourned  meeting  of  the  line  officers 
was  held  at  Governor  Dyer's  office  on  Saturday  evening,  2ist 
instant,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  city  regiment.  The  Burnsicle 
Zouaves  desired  to  be  attached  to  the  regiment  as  skirmishers, 
and  their  request  was  granted.  The  regiment  is  to  be  called  The 
First  Regiment  National  Guard  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  officers  were  elected  as  follows  :  Colonel,  James  Shaw, 
Jr.  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Charles  H.  Merriman  ;  Major,  Charles  H. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  53 

Dunham  ;  Adjutant,  George  Frank  Low  ;  Quartermaster,  Amos  D. 
Smith  ;  Assistant  Quartermaster,  William  E.  Hamlin  ;  Commis 
sary,  William  W.  Hoppin  ;  Assistant  Commissary,  Joseph  P.  Man- 
ton  ;  Paymaster,  William  Viall ;  Assistant  Paymaster,  Thomas  A. 
Doyle  ;  Surgeon,  A.  H.  Okie  ;  Assistant  Surgeon,  William  C. 
Beckwith  ;  Chaplain,  Thomas  M.  Clark  ;  Sergeant-Major,  Charles 
J.  Sweet. 

The  companies  then  drew  for  positions,  which  resulted  as  fol 
lows  :  Company  A,  Fifth  Ward ;  Company  B,  Fourth  Ward  ; 
Company  C,  Seventh  Ward  ;  Company  D,  Second  Ward  ;  Com 
pany  E,  Sixth  Ward  ;  Washington  Continentals  ;  Companies  F 
and  G,  First  Ward ;  Company  H,  Burnside  Zouaves. 

Feb.  22,  1862.  The  birthday  of  Washington  was  celebrated 
in  Providence  in  a  manner  and  spirit  befitting  the  day.  The 
Infantry  paraded  with  full  ranks  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  At 
twelve,  M.,  the  bells  were  rung  for  an  hour,  and  a  salute  was  fired. 
A  special  service  was  also  held  at  noon,  in  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  His  Excellency  Governor  Sprague  and  staff  being  present. 
Washington's. farewell  address  was  read  by  Lieut. -Gov.  Samuel 
G.  Arnold.  Dr.  Francis  Wayland  pronounced  the  benediction. 
At  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  First  Regiment  Rhode  Island  National 
Guard  assembled  on  Exchange  place  and  were  formed  in  regular 
line,  as  follows  :  Company  H,  Burnside  Zouaves,  Col.  William 
W.  Paine.  During  the  formation  of  the  line  they  deployed  as 
skirmishers.  Company  A,  Fifth  Ward,  Capt.  Stephen  H.  Hall ; 
Washington  Continentals,  Capt.  C.  Henry  Alexander ;  Company 
F,  First  Ward  Drill  Corps,  Capt.  Henry  A.  \Vebb  ;  Company  C, 
Seventh  Ward,  Capt.  H.  W.  Gardner;  Company  D,  Second  Ward, 


54  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

William  S.  Smith,  lieutenant  commanding  ;  Company  G,  First 
Ward  Light  Guard,  Capt.  A.  Crawford  Greene  ;  Company  E,  Sixth 
Ward,  Capt.  Hopkins  B.  Cady  ;  Company  B,  Fourth  Ward,  Capt. 
Elisha  Dyer.  The  regiment  was  formed  by  Adjt.  G.  Frank  Low, 
when  Brig.-Gen.  Charles  T,  Robbins  assumed  the  command. 

The  officers  of  the  regiment  were  as  follows  :  Colonel,  James 
Shaw,  Jr.;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Charles  H.  Merriman ;  Major, 
Charles  H.  Dunham  ;  Adjutant,  J.  Frank  Low  ;  Sergeant-Major, 
Charles  J.  Sweet. 

At  2.30  o'clock  the  line  was  reviewed  by  His  Excellency  Gov 
ernor  Sprague,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  aids,  Colonels 
Sprague,  Gardner,  and  Harris,  Adjt. -Gen.  Mauran,  with  Captain 
Hoppin,  of  his  staff ;  Paymaster-General  Knight,  Captain  Cran- 
dall,  of  the  staff  of  the  commanding  general ;  Quartermaster  Smith, 
of  the  Marine  Artillery,  and  Lieutenant  Buckley,  of  Battery  C. 

After  the  review,  the  line  was  thrown  into  column,  and  marched 
as  per  the  programme  laid  down.  The  troops  made  an  inspiring 
display.  As  the  column  passed  the  arsenal,  the  battery  now  re 
cruiting  was  formed  into  line,  and  paid  the  honors  of  a  salute,  as 
did  the  Third  Ward  National  Guard,  drawn  up  on  the  sidewalk 
a  short  distance  above.  The  regiment  returned  to  Exchange 
place  between  five  and  six,  and  went  through  the  formalities  of 
dress  parade,  when  the  line  was  dismissed. 

The  Third  Ward  National  Guard,  Capt.  William  M.  Hale,  pa 
raded  at  two  o'clock.  They  wore  a  uniform,  regulation  cap,  a 
dark  blue  tunic  and  dark  pants.  They  were  very  spirited  after 
deciding  to  parade.  The  uniform  was  voted  on  Tuesday  evening, 
and  the  cloth  was  bought  on  Wednesday  morning. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  55 

OBSEQUIES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND    OFFICERS. 


"  Can  storied  urn  or  animated  bust 

Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath? 
Can  honor's  voice  provoke  the  silent  dust, 

Or  flattery  soothe  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  death?  " 

—  G ray's  Elegy* 

March  31,  1862.  The  obsequies  of  Col.  John  S.  Slocum,  Maj. 
Sullivan  Ballon,  and  Capt.  Levi  Tower,  who  fell  at  the  Battle  of 
Bull  Run  July  21,  1861,  were  publicly  observed  in  Providence  to 
day.  The  line  was  formed  under  the  command  of  Brigadier- 
General  Robbins  and  staff  in  the  following  order :  His  Excel 
lency  the  Governor,  William  Sprague ;  His  Honor  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor,  Samuel  G.  Arnold;  aids  and  high  military 
officers  of  the  State  and  of  United  States  Volunteers  ;  Providence 
Horse  Guards  ;  American  Brass  Band ;  First  Regiment  Rhode 
Island  National  Guard ;  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.  ;  Lieut.-Col. 
Charles  H.  Merriman  ;  Maj.  Charles  H.  Dunham  ;  Adjt.  G.  Frank 
Low;  Company  A,  Fifth  Ward,  Capt.  S.  H.  Hall;  Company  B, 
Fourth  Ward,  Captain  Elisha  Dyer  ;  Company  C,  Seventh  Ward, 
Capt.  Henry  W.  Gardner  ;  Company  D,  Second  Ward,  Lieut.  - 
Commanding  William  S.  Smith;  Company  E,  Sixth  Ward,  Capt.  H. 
B.  Cacly  ;  Company  F,  First  Ward,  Capt.  H.  Wrebb ;  Company  G, 
First  Ward  Light  Guard,  Capt.  A.  C.  Greene ;  Company  H, 
Burnside  Zouaves,  Capt.  W.  W.  Paine ;  Battalion  of  Infantry, 
Col.  Josiah  Whitaker ;  Old  Guard  Providence  Artillery,  Capt. 
William  Jackson  ;  Sarsfield  Guards,  Captain  Corcoran  ;  Sowamsett 
Guards,  Warren,  Capt.  Frank  S.  Brown ;  Barrington  National 


56  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

Guards,  Capt.  Henry  Staples  ;  Portsmouth  National  Guards,  Capt. 
Alonzo  B.  Tallman ;  Pettaquamscot  Light  Infantry,  Kingston, 
Capt.  Elisha  C.  Clark;  Regiment  of  Infantry,  the  funeral  escort 
of  Col.  John  S.  Slocum,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Brown  ; 
hearse  and  pall  bearers  ;  caparisoned  horse  led  by  groom  ;  detail 
of  officers  from  the  Second  Regiment,  R.  I.  V.  ;  First  Light  In 
fantry,  Company  A,  Capt.  L.  C.  Warner  ;  First  Light  Infantry, 
Company  B,  Capt.  C.  R.  Dennis  ;  University  Cadets,  Capt.  G.  T. 
Woodward  ;  Providence  Artillery,  Capt.  J.  R.  Holman  ;  Ellsworth 
Phalanx  (High  School),  Capt.  D.  W.  Lyman  ;  National  Cadets 
and  Mechanics  Rifles ;  Third  Ward  National  Guard,  Capt. 
William  M.  Hale;  Pawtucket  Home  Guards,  Lieut. -Commanding 
Albert  Bliss  ;  Battalion  of  Infantry,  the  funeral  escort  of  Maj. 
Sullivan  Ballou,  under  command  of  Maj.  Henry  T.  Sisson;  hearse 
and  pall-bearers;  Maj.  Albert  S.  Gallup  and  others;  Woonsocket 
Guards,  Capt.  Charles  H.  Watson  ;  Slatersville  Drill  Corps,  Capt. 
Isaac  Place  ;  Pawtucket  Light  Guard,  Company  B,  Captain  Cud- 
worth  ;  Pawtucket  Light  Guard,  Company  C,  Captain  Smith  ; 
one  company  of  Infantry,  the  funeral  escort  of  Capt.  Levi  Tower; 
Pawtucket  Light  Guard,  Company  A,  Capt.  Robert  McCloy ; 
hearse  and  pall-bearers. 

Arriving  at  the  cemetery  at  Swan  Point,  the  funeral  service 
was  conducted  by  Bishop  Clark,  and,  at  its  conclusion,  three 
volleys  were  fired.  The  column  was  then  reformed  and  pro 
ceeded  to  Dexter  Training  Ground,  and  passed  in  review  before 
His  Excellency  the  Governor,  after  which  it  marched  down  High 
and  Westminster  streets  to  Exchange  place,  where  it  was  dis 
missed. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  57- 

MEMORIAL  TO  LIEUT.   H.  A.   PRESCOTT,  KILLED  AT  BULL  RUN, 

JULY  21,    1 86 1. 


In  March,  1862,  when  Governor  Sprague  went  to  Manassas,  a 
special  commission  of  three  was  sent  by  the  Providence  Light 
Infantry  to  look  for  the  remains  of  Lieut.  Henry  A.  Prescott, 
killed  July  21,  1861,  but  their  search  for  his  grave  was  unsuccess 
ful.  A  beautiful  mural  tablet  has  been  erected  to  his  memory  in 
the  chapel  of  Grace  Church,  with  the  following  inscription  : 

|n    7Wernoriarn' 

LIEUTENANT  HENRY  A.  PRESCOTT. 

Born  November  loth,  1823. 
KILLED  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS  PLAIN,  VIRGINIA, 

July  21,  1861. 
The  Christian,  the  Patriot,  the  Good  Soldier  of 

Jesus  Christ. 
In  all  his  relations,  by  inflexible  devotion  to  Truth, 

and  Duty,  he  illustrated  his  Faith. 

AT  HIS  COUNTRY'S  CALL,  IN  DEFENCE  OF  HER  CONSTITUTION 
AND  NATIONALITY,  HE  LAID  DOWN  HIS  LIFE. 

This  Tablet  is  erected  by  the  Teachers  and  Scholars  of 

Grace  Church  Sunday  School,  as  an  expression 

of  esteem  for  the  worth  and  gratitude 

for  the  example  of  their  associate 

and  Constant  Friend. 

Mr.  Prescott  left  a  wife  and  five  children,  a  mother  and  one- 
sister  to  mourn  their  irreparable  loss. 

8 


58  RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

On  the  i2th  day  of  April,  1867,  the  first  Post  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  in  the  State  was  organized  under  the  name 
of  Prescott  Post  No.  i,  of  the  District  of  Providence,  Depart 
ment  of  Rhode  Island.  Lieutenant  Prescott's  army  cap,  with  the 
bullet  holes  plainly  visible,  is  sacredly  preserved  at  the  Post  Head 
quarters.  Four  of  the  commanders  of  Prescott  Post  belonged  to 
the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  viz.  :  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  com 
mander,  1867;  William  Stone,  1871-72  ;  William  E.  Taber,  1874; 
William  A.  Spicer,  1890. 


THANKS  TO  THE  RHODE  ISLAND  NATIONAL  GUARD. 


STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  &c.  \ 

ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

PROVIDENCE,  April  7,  1862.  ) 
General  Orders  No.  23. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  presents  his  thanks  to  Brig.  Gen.  Charles  T.  Rob- 
bins  and  staff  for  their  signal  efficiency  in  conducting  the  funeral  ceremonies 
in  honor  of  the  martyred  heroes  of  Rhode  Island,  the  lamented  Colonel  Slo- 
cum,  Major  Ballon  and  Capt.  Tower,  who  were  killed  in  the  battle  of  "  Bull 
Run,"  July  21,  1861. 

To  the  several  military  organizations  composing  the  Second  Brigade,  for  their 
full  ranks  and  promptness. 

To  the  First  Regiment  "  National  Guard,"  Colonel  Shaw  ;  Providence  Light 
Battery,  Old  Guard  Providence  Artillery,  Ellsworth  Phalanx  (Providence  High 
School),  University  Cadets,  Sarsfield  Guards,  Pettaquamscot  Light  Infantry, 
Barrington  National  Guards,  Sowamsett  Guards,  Portsmouth  Guards,  Third 
Ward  National  Guard,  and  Slatersville  Drill  Corps  for  their  voluntary  attend 
ance,  with  large  numbers,  adding  so  much  to  the  efficiency  and  appearance  of 
the  column. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  59 

To  the  Providence  Horse  Guards,  Colonel  Hallett,  for  their  escort. 

The  Burnside  Zouaves  added  much  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  solemn  oc 
casion,  guarding  the  remains  while  lying  in  state.  It  will  ever  be  to  them  a 
proud  satisfaction  that  in  the  early  days  of  their  history  this  sacred  duty  fell 
to  their  lot. 

Thus  Rhode  Island  honored  those  dead  heroes  as  the  sainted  representatives 
of  her  living  soldiers.  While  Rhode  Island  wept  for  the  fatal  past,  her  heart 
also  beat  proudly  for  the  future.  Her  prayer  is  that  a  crushing  retribution  will 
speedily  overwhelm  the  perpetrators  of  the  gross  indignities  to  her  favorite 
sons,  and  that  her  own  brave  soldiers,  and  the  soldiers  of  her  sister  States,  will, 
with  strong  will  and  ready  steel,  quickly  cancel  the  brutal  outrages  inflicted 
upon  the  lifeless  bodies  of  these  children  of  our  common  country. 
By  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief. 

EDWARD  C.  MAURAN, 

Adjutant-General. 

April  1 8,  1862.  The  First  Regiment  Rhode  Island  National 
Guard,  Colonel  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  paraded  this  evening  with  full 
ranks.  Everything  passed  off  most  satisfactorily. 

April  i Qth.  The  Third  Ward  National  Guards  are  now  desig 
nated  as  the  What  Cheer  Guards.  They  have  been  presented 
with  an  elegant  silk  standard  by  the  ladies  of  the  ward. 

May  8th.  Annual  election  of  officers  Company  E,  Sixth  Ward, 
First  Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guard  :  Captain,  Hopkins 
B.  Cady  ;  Lieutenants,  Ezra  P.  Bullock,  C.  F.  Phillips,  Stephen 
Thurber ;  Clerk,  F.  N.  Seabury  ;  Treasurer,  C.  F.  Phillips  ;  Cor 
porals,  Orsmus  A.  Taft,  Frank  Holden,  C.  Stone,  Alfred  Cady, 
and  others  ;  Drummer,  Henry  H.  James  ;  Armorers,  Ira  R.  Wil 
bur,  W.  A.  Greene. 

May  i /th.  Annual  election  Company  A,  Fifth  Ward,  First 
Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guard  :  Captain,  Wm.  E.  Ta- 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD. 

her,  Jr.,  vice  S.  H.  Hall,  resigned;  Lieutenants,  Joseph  L.  Ben 
nett,  Jr.,  Leander  C.  Belcher;  Sergeants,  William  A.  James,  A.  R. 
Peck,  John  W.  Briggs,  W.  C.  Barker,  Albert  C.  Winsor. 

May  25th,  Sunday.  At  midnight  the  urgent  summons  came 
for  volunteers  for  the  defence  of  the  Capital,  and  from  the  First 
Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guard,  bound  together  by  no 
legal  ties,  subject  to  no  military  orders,  simply  banded  together 
to  learn  the  duties  of  the  soldier,  sprang  to  arms  the  Tenth 
Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers.  Called  together  at  9  o'clock 
A.  M.  on  the  26th,  by  7  P.  M.  of  the  same  day  613  men  had  placed 
their  names  upon  the  roll  of  service  to  their  country. 

The  response  of  the  town  companies  of  the  Rhode  Island 
National  Guard  was  equally  prompt,  and  from  them  was  organ 
ized  the  Ninth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  which  left  for 
Washington  with  the  Tenth  the  day  after  the  call.  The  com 
panies  were  :  The  Lonsdale  National  Guard,  Capt.  John  Mc- 
Kinley  ;  Natick  National  Guard,  Capt.  John  A.  Bowen  ;  the  Paw- 
tucket  Battalion  and  Westerly  National  Guards. 

The  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  included  the 
following  city  companies  :  First  Ward  Light  Guards,  Capt.  A. 
-Crawford  Greene  ;  First  Ward  Drill  Corps,  Capt.  Benjamin  W. 
Harris  ;  Second  Ward  National  Guard,  Capt.  Charles  H.  Dunham  ; 
What  Cheer  Guards,  Third  Ward,  Capt.  William  M.  Hale  ;  Fourth 
Ward  National  Guard,  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer;  Fifth  Ward  National 
•Guard,  Capt.  William  E.  Taber,  Jr. ;  Sixth  Ward  National  Guard, 
•Capt.  Hopkins  B.  Cacly  ;  Seventh  Ward  National  Guard,  Capt. 
Theodore  Winn  ;  Burnside  Zouaves,  Capt.  Christopher  Duck 
worth. 


RHODE    ISLAND    NATIONAL    GUARD.  6 1 

The  first  detachment  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments, 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  left  for  Washington  Tuesday  afternoon, 
May  2/th,  and  numbered  upwards  of  one  thousand  men.  It  was 
quickly  followed  by  the  Tenth  Light  Battery,  in  three  detach 
ments.  More  volunteers  for  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  regiments  from 
the  National  Guard  were  soon  in  the  city  awaiting  marching  or 
ders,  and  the  second  detachment  for  those  regiments  started  for 
Washington  May  2Qth. 

The  history  of  the  War  for  the  Union  presents  no  prouder  ex 
ample  than  we  have  recited,  of  prompt  and  patriotic  response  to 
the  call  of  duty.  Within  thirty  hours  after  the  call,  two  regiments 
of  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery  were  organized,  armed,  and 
equipped.  The  novelty  and  excitement  attending  the  first  call  for 
troops  had  largely  subsided,  and  the  days  of  liberal  bounties  had 
not  yet  come. 

But  men  were  needed  at  once.  The  order  of  the  governor 
showed  how  pressing  he  deemed  the  emergency,  and,  as  the  news 
flashed  along  the  wires,  men  leaped  from  their  beds  and  hastened 
to  the  places  of  rendezvous.  It  was  no  night  for  sleep.  Messen 
gers  on  horses  transmitted  the  alarm  from  hand  to  hand.  City 
repeated  it  to  town,  and  town  to  village,  till  the  entire  country 
was  aroused.  Well  may  the  Rhode  Island  National  Guard  be 
proud  of  its  record,  for  the  emergency  found  it  "  ready  and  willing." 
Well  was  it  for  Rhode  Island  that  she  had  in  reserve  such  a  noble 
organization  to  come  forward  when  needed  to  the  help  of  our 
armies  in  the  field. 

Let  no  one  who  saw  it  ever  despair  of  the  Republic. 


<a,0^^ 


THE 


AND  IENIH  Ij.  I.  KOlUJHEERji 


AND    THE 


TENTH  R.  I.  BATTERY. 


"  Of  all  the  true  host  that  New  England  can  boast, 

Far  down  by  the  sea,  unto  highland, 
No  State  is  more  true,  or  willing  to  do, 

Than  dear  little  Yankee  Rhode  Island  : 
Yes,  you're  loyal  and  true,  little  Rhody, 
Then  all  honor  to  you,  little  Rhody, 
Governor  Sprague,  was  not  very  vague, 
When  he  said,  '  Shoulder  arms,  Little  Rhody  !  '  " 

—  Old  vjar  so  Jig-. 


The  Capitol  in  1862. 


ON   the   25th  of    May,   1862,  at    midnight,  a  dispatch  was 
received    by    Governor    Sprague,    announcing   that   the 
enemy  in  great  force  were  marching  on  Washington,  and 
calling  for  every  available  man  to  rally  to  its  defence.     Just  an 
hour  later   the    governor   issued  an  order  for  two  regiments  of 
infantry,  and  a  battery  of  artillery  for  immediate  service.     The 
response   was    prompt    and    the    ranks    quickly  filled  ;    marching 
orders  were  given,  and  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volun 
teers  and  the  Tenth   Rhode  Island  Battery  promptly  reported  for 
duty  at  the  Capital. 


64  NINTH  AND    TENTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS 

In  order  to  understand  the  military  situation  in  Virginia,  at  this 
time  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  a  little. 

The  whole  campaign  of  1861,  beginning  with  Bull  Run,  had 
been  discouraging,  and  the  winter  passed  away  without  further 
active  service  except  picket  duty.  But  in  March,  1862,  the  Con 
federates  having  been  defeated  at  Winchester,  and,  having  fallen 
back  from  Manassas  to  a  new  line  of  defence  ontheRappahannock, 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  in  motion.  It  was  conveyed  by  water 
from  Alexandria  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  marched  up  the  Penin 
sula  to  attack  the  rebel  capital.  Although  resisted  at  Yorktovvn 
and  Williamsburg,  it  pressed  steadily  forward,  till  on  the  2ist 
of  May  it  was  within  a  few  miles  of  Richmond.  Meanwhile, 
McClellan  had  sent  repeated  calls  for  reinforcements  from  Mc 
Dowell's  corps  of  40,000  men,  which  had  been  withheld  for  the 
defence  of  Washington,  and,  on  the  i/th  of  May,  President 
Lincoln  telegraphed,  "At  your  urgent  call  for  reinforcements 
McDowell  is  sent  forward,  but  is  not  in  any  event  to  uncover 
Washington." 

Unfortunately  for  the  delay,  a  disturbing  element  now  appeared, 
which  not  only  prevented  the  junction  of  McDowell  with  McClel 
lan,  but  totally  disarranged  all  the  well-laid  Union  plans  in  Vir 
ginia.  Early  in  .May,  Stonewall  Jackson  (whose  daring  activity 
was  worth  an  army  to  the  Confederates)  left  his  position  before 
Richmond  with  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  men,  and  made  one  of 
his  brilliant  raids  up  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  Falling  like  a 
hammer  on  General  Banks's  little  army  at  Winchester,  on  the  24th, 
he  sent  it  whirling  before  him  across  the  Potomac,  and  threatened 
the  city  of  Washington.  Great  was  the  alarm  and  consternation. 


AND    TENTH    R.    I.    BATTERY. 


McDowell  was  ordered  back  when  within  a  day's  march  of  Mc- 
Clellan.  The  President  took  military  possession  of  the  railroads, 
and,  on  the  25th,  Secretary  Stanton  issued  orders  calling  upon  the 
militia  of  the  loyal  States  to  defend  the  Capital. 

The  following  is  the  despatch  sent  to 
the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  : 

WASHINGTON,  May  25,  1862. 
To  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island: 

Intelligence  from  various  quarters  leaves  no  doubt 
that  the  enemy  in  great  force  are  advancing  on 
Washington.  You  will  please  organize  and  for 
ward  immediately  all  the  militia  and  volunteer 
forces  in  your  State. 

Signed,         EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

Secretary  of    War. 

Later  a  second    despatch   was   received    from   Washington    by 
Governor  Sprague  : 

Send  all  the  troops  forward  that  you  can  immediately.     Banks  is  completely 
routed.     Enemy  are  in  large  force  advancing  upon  Harper's  Ferry. 

Signed,  EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

Secretary  of  War. 

Just  an  hour  later  the  Governor  issued  the  following  order  : 

PROVIDENCE,  May  25,  1862. 

Citizens  of  the  State  capable  of  bearing  arms  will  at  once  report  themselves 
to  the  nearest  military  organization.  The  commandants  of  the  chartered 
and  volunteer  military  companies,  will  at  once  organize  their  companies  and 
the  men  so  reporting,  into  companies  of  eighty-three  men,  rank  and  file,  and 
report  to  their  headquarters,  where  they  will  be  armed,  equipped  and  moved 
9 


66 


NINTH    AND    TENTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS. 


under  the  direction  of  the  Commander-in-chief, 
to  Washington,  to  protect  the  Natfonal  Capital 
from  the  advance  of  the  rebels,  who  are  now 
rapidly  approaching. 

Gen.  Robbins  is  directed  to  organize  and  com 
mand    the    first    regiment,    and   will    order    his 
brigade  under  arms,  and  form  it  into  a  regiment. 
The  second  regiment  will  be  under  command 
of  Capt.  Bliss,  of  the  United  States  Army. 

The  Providence  Marine  Corps  of  Artillery 
will  be  placed  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Col. 
E.  C.  Gallup,  as  Captain,  and  he  is  directed  to 
organize  the  same. 

Col.  Shaw  is  ordered  to  assemble  the  National  Guard  for  organization. 
Rhode  Island  troops  will  move  through  Baltimore,  and   if  their  progress  is 
impeded  by  the  rebel  mob  of  that  city  they  will  mete  out  to  it  the  punishment 
which  it  has  long  merited. 

Our  regiments  will  move  to  Washington  to  defend  the  Capital  in  common 
with  thousands  of  our  patriotic  countrymen  who  will  rush  to  arms  to  ward  oft* 
the  danger  which  is  imminent. 

WM.  SPRAGUE, 

AUG,   HOPPIX,  Governor. 

Ass't  Ad/ 1.  General. 

The  alarm  thus  indicated  aroused  every  loyal  heart,  and  the 
excitement  was  almost  as  tumultuous  as  when  Sumterwas  fired  on 
a  year  before.  The  response  was  equally  prompt  and  worthy  of  the 
State,  and  demonstrated  that  our  citizens  are  fully  impressed 
with  the  patriotic  duties  of  American  citizenship,  and  ready  to  dis 
charge  them  in  time  of  peril.  Within  an  incredibly  short  space  of 
time,  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments  of  Volunteers,  and  the  Tenth 
Light  Battery  were  organized  and  started  for  Washington. 


THE  NINTH  REGIMENT 


R.  I.  VOLUNTEERS. 


T 


Picket  Duty  near  Tennallytown. 


HE  Ninth  Regiment 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers 
was  organized  from  the 
volunteer  companies  of  the 
State  National  Guard,  together 
with  the  chartered  and  other 
companies,  not  including  the 
Providence  National  Guard,  first 
reporting  for  duty  under  the 
following  special  order  : 


ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  May  23,  1862. 

Commandants  of  the  several  military  companies  of  the  State  will  immediately 
assemble  their  respective  commands  at  their  usual  places  of  rendezvous,  and 
report  one  company  minimum  standard  from  each  organization,  to  the  office  of 
the  Adjutant-General,  for  three  months'  service  in  Washington, 
By  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief. 

Signed,  E.  C.  MAURAN, 

A  djutant-  General. 

This  special    call    for   troops  was  made  to  meet  a  threatened 
attack  upon  the  National  Capital. 


68  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

During  the  same  month  of  May,  1862,  the  rebel  Gen.  Thomas 
J.  Jackson,  familiarly  known  as  "Stonewall,"  with  a  large  body 
of  men,  made  a  sudden  raid  upon  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah, 
routed  the  weakened  army  of  General  Banks,  at  Winchester,  and 
threatened  the  safety  of  Washington.  In  view  of  actual  and  pos 
sible  needs,  the  Secretary  of  War  sent,  on  the  25th  of  May,  a 
telegram  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  calling  for  the  imme 
diate  forwarding  to  the  National  Capital,  of  all  the  available 
troops  in  the  State,  to  serve  in  the  defences  for  a  period  of  three 
months.  This  telegram  was  received  by  Governor  Sprague  at 
midnight,  and  before  sunrise  measures  had  been  taken  to  comply 
with  the  call.  The  spirit  of  the  people  was  well  represented  by 
this  prompt  action  of  the  Executive.  The  excitement  and  enthu 
siasm  was  as  intense  as  when  the  integrity  of  the  nation  was  first 
threatened,  and  affected  alike  all  classes.  The  Rhode  Island 
National  Guard,  then  for  some  time  organized,  furnished  an 
ample  reserve  from  which  to  draw  the  State's  proportion  of  the 
new  levy.  Volunteers  came  pouring  in  with  great  rapidity,  and  in 
two  days  the  Lonsdale  National  Guard,  the  Natick  National 
Guard,  the  Westerly  National  Guard,  and  Pawtucket  Battalion 
(two  full  companies),  Company  A,  Pawtucket  Light  Guard,  and 
Company  H,  which  was  composed  of  the  Slater  Drill  Corps  and 
the  Cudworth  Zouaves,  and  companies  from  Newport  and  Woon- 
socket,  were  reported  for  duty,  and  left  Providence  May  2/th,  for 
Washington,  as  the  Ninth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 
The  second  detachment  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments,  under 
command  of  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss,  of  the  Tenth,  followed  May  2Qth, 
thus  in  four  days  completing  their  organization,  and  commencing 
their  journey  to  the  field  of  duty. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


69 


Col.  John  T.  Pitman. 


The  Ninth  Regiment  was  organized  by 
Col.  Charles  T.  Robbins,  who  accompanied 
it  to  Washington.  It  was  subsequently 
placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  John  T. 
Pitman,  whose  commission  bore  date  July  3, 
1862.  Colonel  Pitman  had  previously  served 
as  captain  of  Company  G,  First  Rhode  Island 
Detached  Militia,  in  1861.  He  was  appointed 
major  of  the  Ninth,  May  26,  1862;  lieuten 
ant-colonel,  June  9,  1862,  and  colonel,  July  3,  1862,  and  was  mus 
tered  out  Sept.  i,  1862.  He  afterwards  served  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Eleventh  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  Oct.  I,  1862, 
and  was  mustered  out  of  service,  July  13,  1863. 

The  Ninth  Regiment  left  Providence  Tuesday  afternoon,  May 
2/th,  by  rail  for  New  York,  amidst  cheers  and  shouts  and  farewell 
waving  of  handkerchiefs.  But  the  sad  parting  was  apparently 
soon  forgotten,  for  the  boys  shouted,  and  sang,  and  laughed  at 
each  other's  jokes  the  greater  part  of  the  way.  There  was  little 
sleep  on  the  way  that  night.  Some  tried  to  rest  as  best  they 
could  in  the  crowded  steamer,  but  this  was  well  nigh  impossible. 
About  breakfast  time  the  regiment  arrived  in  New  York  where 
"rations"  were  served.  After  some  delay  the  line  of  travel  was 
resumed  for  Philadelphia,  crowds  cheering  the  volunteers  at  all 
the  stopping  places.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  long 
train  rolled  into  the  passenger  station  of  the  Quaker  City,  and 
the  men,  tired  and  hungry,  landed  at  the  foot  of  Washington 
Square.  A  splendid  reception  was  now  tendered  them  with  an 
invitation  to  a  banquet  at  the  rooms  of  the  Cooper  Volunteer 


JO  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

Refreshment  Association,  on  Otsego  street.  This  welcome  news 
was  received  with  a  shout.  The  hospitable  invitation  was  accepted 
with  alacrity,  and  with  a  profusion  of  thanks  that  came  from  the 
innermost  recesses  of  their  drooping  hearts,  the  companies  fell 
into  line,  one  of  the  men  saying,  "Hard  tack  may  taste  good  some 
times,  but  it  must  be  when  a  feller's  real  hungry  an'  ain't  got 
nothin'  else  to  eat.  I  reckon  some  soft  bread,  and  cake,  and 
coffee,  will  taste  better  to  us  just  now."  The  progress  of  the  Ninth 
to  the  "  Cooper  Shop  "  was  a  perfect  ovation.  "  We  were  welcomed 
all  the  way,"  wrote  one  of  the  men,  "like  conquering  heroes  return 
ing  from  victory,  rather  than  a  weary  band  of  raw  recruits,  moving 
to  the  assistance  of  our  comrades  at  the  Capital.  On  our  arrival 
we  were  liberally  supplied  with  towels,  water  and  soap,  and  after 
washing  our  hands  and  faces  we  felt  greatly  refreshed.  Then  we 
filed  into  the  long  dining-room  and  partook  of  an  excellent  colla 
tion,  consisting  of  cold  chicken  and  ham  sandwiches,  hot  coffee, 
and  other  delicacies  ;  and  didn't  it  all  go  good,  served  by  the  hands 
of  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia,  who  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
make  our  stay  pleasant  and  make  us  feel  at  home.  We  filled  not 
only  our  stomachs  but  our  haversacks  also,  and  after  conveying 
our  grateful  acknowledgments,  for  what  seemed  hardly  less  than 
a  royal  banquet  and  reception,  some  of  us  started  out  to  get  a  view 
of  the  city.  It  was  about  this  time  that  one  of  the  captains  of 
the  Ninth  met  with  an  interesting  experience.  He  had  gone  on 
ahead,  a  little  way  up  the  street,  when  pausing  for  a  few  moments, 
deeply  absorbed  in  tender  memories  of  home — a  trifle  homesick 
he  afterwards  admitted, — he  heard  the  voice  of  a  child  behind 
him  to  which,  at  first,  he  gave  no  heed,  till  it  appeared  to  come 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


nearer,  'Soldier!'  Turn 
ing  he  beheld  a  charming 
little  girl  looking  up  into 
his  face,  and  holding  out  a 
pretty  flower,  saying,  '  Sol 
dier,  this  is  for  you  ! '  The 
captain  gratefully  accepted 
the  sweet  remembrance 
with  many  good  wishes  for 
the  child,  and  returned  to 
his  company  greatly  com 
forted  by  this  little  inter 
view.  To  one  who  has 
never  left  kindred  and 
friends,  perhaps  never  to 
return,  this  little  incident 
may  appear  trivial,  but  to  those  on  their  way  to  the  enemy's  country, 
to  face  the  stern  realities  of  war,  experiences  like  this  told  plainer 
than  words  the  depth  of  that  loyalty  in  the  young  as  well  as  the 
old,  which  did  much  to  cheer  the  heart  of  the  soldier,  and  made  an 
impression  on  his  memory  more  lasting  than  the  stirring  words 
of  the  patriotic  orator.  Soon  the  order  came  to  '  fall  in  '  for  the 
march  to  the  Baltimore  depot,  and  amidst  mutual  cheering  and 
shouting  the  column  moved  off.  After  quite  a  long  march  came 
the  welcome  order,  'All  aboard  for  Baltimore  ! '  It  was  after  dark 
when  the  eager  men  packed  themselves  into  the  cars.  The  engines 
whistled  and  puffed,  the  bells  rang,  the  people  hurrahed  and  waved 
hats  and  handkerchiefs,  and  the  boys  of  the  Ninth  put  their  heads 
out  of  the  windows  and  yelled,  as  the  train  moved  off  at  last,  with 


The  Captain  Surprised. 


72  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

Washington  only  a  hundred  and  forty  miles  away.  The  regiment 
arrived  at  Baltimore  on  the  morning  of  the  2Qth,  pretty  well  fagged 
out,  and  the  boys  thought  on  the  whole  they  had  had  a  pretty  rough 
night  of  it.  There  was  no  such  reception  as  at  Philadelphia.  No 
opposition  was  made  to  the  march  of  the  regiment  across  the  city 
to  the  Washington  depot,  as  had  been  anticipated.  But  none  of 
the  men,  women  or  children,  came  out  to  welcome  them.  No,  the 
people  maintained  a  perfect  silence  as  the  column  moved  on  to  the 
rooms  of  the  Union  Relief  Association,  120  Eutaw  Street,  where  a 
free  collation  had  been  provided ;  some  of  the  men  also  feasted 
on  strawberries  at  fifteen  cents  per  quart,  nice  ones,  too. 

"At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,"  wrote  one  of  the  men,  "  we 
left  the  Monumental  City,  with  Washington  only  forty  miles  away. 
On  the  route  we  passed  Annapolis  Junction,  rendered  famous  in 
song  and  story  by  the  march  of  the  First  Rhode  Island  Regiment 
a  year  before,  when  ''twas  only  nine  miles  to  the  junction.' 
There  was  a  good  deal  on  the  way  to  interest  us,  Perryville,  Havre 
de  Grace,  and  other  places,  but  we  were  just  beginning  to  tire  of 
the  long  ride,  standing  up,  sitting  down,  and  lying  around,  when 
the  great  unfinished  dome  of  the  capitol  loomed  up  into  view, 
above  the  hills,  and  we  knew  that  we  were  nearing  our  destina 
tion."  As  the  men  alighted  from  the  train  at  five  o'clock  p.  M., 
they  found  themselves  surrounded  by  many  reminders  of  the  war. 
During  a  long  delay  here,  doubtless  caused  in  waiting  for  orders, 
some  of  the  men  stole  away  into  the  city,  and  reported  soldiers 
everywhere,  and  the  streets  full  of  wagons  loaded  with  army  sup 
plies  of  all  kinds.  Everything  was  bustle  and  confusion  such  as  the 
eyes  of  these  new  soldiers  had  never  looked  upon  before.  The 
regiment  remained  that  night  in  Washington  at  the  barracks,  near 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


73 


the  depot,  and  subsisted  on  the  "army  rations"  dealt  out  to  them, 
but  they  had  neither  supper  nor  breakfast  the  next  morning  worthy 
of  the  name.  How  be  it,  there  was  no  immediate  danger  of  starva 
tion,  after  the  supply  which  they  had  stored  away  during  their  stay 
in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  at  the  Union  refreshment  saloons. 
Marching  orders  soon  arrived,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  3Oth 
the  regiment  took  its  line  of  march  up  Pennsylvania  avenue,  mak 
ing  a  halt  near  the  White  House.  One  of  the  men  wrote  home  : 
"  We  were  halted  for  a  few  minutes  near  the  President's  house— 
and  I  thought  I  would  jot  down  a  few  lines, — but  the  thread  of 
my  narrative  was  rudely  severed  by  the  order  '  Fall  in  ! '  and  we  re 
sumed  our  march  under  a  scorching  sun,  through  dust  ankle-deep, 
and  of  a  degree  of  fineness  and  penetration  which  beggars  descrip 
tion.  On  we  marched  out  of  Washington,  and  through  George 
town,  and  towards  night  reached  our  present  quarters  near  Ten- 
nallytown.  Just  as  we  arrived  here  after  our  six-mile  tramp  we 
were  favored  with  a  drenching  rain,  which  converted  the  dust 
upon  our  persons  and  garments  into  a  very  fine  paste,  and  has 
made  us  ornamental  as  well  as  useful  members  of  society.  Just 
after  dark  we  pitched  our  tents  and  'turned  in  '  upon  the  ground, 
somewhat  wet,  but  upon  the  whole  very  comfortable.  Tennally- 
tovvn  appears  to  be  a  collection  of  two  blacksmith  shops,  a  hotel, 
a  small  church,  a  post-office,  and  a  toll-gate  about  three  miles 
beyond  Georgetown.  High  street  in  Georgetown  leads  directly 
to  it."  The  Ninth  Encampment  was  located  just  beyond  the  toll- 
gate,  in  a  beautiful  grove  of  oaks,  which  had  been  occupied  for 
some  time  previous  by  Pennsylvania  troops,  and  it  was  laid  out 
with  rows  of  white  Sibley  tents  in  straight  lines,  with  streets  of 
10 


74 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


equal  width  between.  By  General  Or 
ders  Number  One,  it  was  named  "  Camp 
Frieze,"  in  honor  of  the  Quartermaster 
General  of  Rhode  Island.  Officers' 
quarters,  in  square  tents,  were  at  the 
head  of  the  camp,  nicely  shaded  by 
great  oaks.  Afterward  the  streets  of  the 
camp  were  finely  graded,  with  their 
names  printed  on  neat  signs.  Many  of 
Gen.  samuei  P.  sturgis.  the  tents  were  named  also.  One  was 

called  the  "  Miller  House,"  corner  of  Rhode  Island  and  Boston  ave 
nues,  and  next  door  was  the  "  Foster  House,"  then  the  "  Pawtucket 
Hotel."  On  the  6th  of  June  the  regiment  was  sworn  into  the  ser 
vice  of  the  United  States.  It  formed  a  part  of  the  brigade  of 
General  Sturgis,  who  had  been  recently  called  to  Washington  to 
assist  General  Wadsworth,  the  military  governor,  and  who  was 
given  command  of  the  fortifications  around  the  city. 

Several  interesting  official  orders  have  been  preserved: 
GENERAL   STURGIS'S    ORDERS. 


HEADQUARTERS  COLLEGE  VILLA, 

TENXALLYTOWX,  D.  C.,  June  4,  1862. 
General  Orders  JV0.  9. 

I.  The  commanders  of  camps  will  allow  none  of  the  men  in  their  respective 
commands  to  pass  beyond  the  lines  of  their  camps  without  a  special  permit  from 
said  commanders. 

II.  The  attention  of  commanding  officers  is  called  to  Article  41  of  the  rules 
and  articles  of  war  which  reads  as  follows  : 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  75 

"All  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  who  shall  be  found  one  mile 
from  the  camp,  without  leave,  in  writing,  from  their  commanding  officer,  shall 
suffer  such  punishment  as  shall  be  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  sentence  of  a 
court  martial." 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HENRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 

HEADQUARTERS  COLLEGE  VILLA, 

TENNALLYTOWX,  D.  C.,  June  4,  1862. 
COLONEL  ROBBIXS, 

Com\lg  qth  and  loth  R.  I.  Reg'ts. 

SIR:  You  will  please  detail  pickets  for  to-night,  as  on  previous  nights,  and 
henceforth  until  further  orders. 

I  have  received  no  consolidated  morning  reports  from  your  command  for  the 
la'st  two  mornings.  Please  have  one  made  out  for  to-day  and  on  each  morn 
ing  hereafter. 

By  imperative  orders  from  Headquarters,  Washington,  I  am  obliged  to 
transmit  at  once,  monthly  returns  of  the  strength  of  the  Brigade.  In  view  of 
this,  you  will  please  have  prepared,  to-day,  if  possible,  a  monthly  return  for 
the  month  of  May,  of  the  strength  of  your  entire  command. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HENRY  R.     MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A,  A.  G. 

HEADQUARTERS  COLLEGE  VILLA, 

TENNALLYTOWN,  D.  C.,  June  6,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  i. 

ist.  The  commanding  officer  of  each  Regiment,  Battery,  Battalion  or  De 
tachment  assigned  to  the  command  of  Brig. -Gen.  S.  P.  Sturgis  will  make  con 
solidated  morning  reports  daily  to  the  commanding  General,  at  Headquarters, 
College  Villa,  Tennallvtown,  D.  C. 


76  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

2d.     The  Adjutant  of  each  command  assigned  as  above,  shall  report  in  person 
to  the  Commanding  General,  every  day  at  eleven  o'clock  A.  M. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HENRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Col.  C.  T.  ROBBIXS,  Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 

Coindg  qth  and  loth  R.  I.  Regiments. 


HEADQUARTERS   COLLEGE    VlLLA, 

TEXXALLYTOWX,  D.  C.,  June  6,  1862. 
Col.  CHAS.  T.  ROBBIXS, 

9///  Rhode  Island  Regt. 

SIR:     For  to-night's  picket  duty  you  will  please  detail  ten  men  of  your  com 
mand,  said  men  to  be  accompanied  by  a  non-commissioned  officer. 
This  arrangement  to  be  observed  until  further  orders. 

Bv  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HEXRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 


HEADOJJARTERS  STURGIS'S  BRIGADE, 

WASHIXGTOX,  June  S,  1862. 
General  Orders  JYo.  12. 

I.  The  headquarters  of  the  general  commanding  Sturgis's  Brigade,  are  now 
and  will  be  until  further  orders  in  building  northeast  comer  of  Nineteenth  and 
I  streets,  Washington  City. 

II.  Official  communications  will  be  addressed    as    heretofore,  to  Henry  R 
Mighels,  Capt.  and  A.  A.  G.,  College  Villa,  Tennallytown,  D.  C. 

Bv  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HEXRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  77 

WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
WASHINGTON  CITY,  D.  C.,  June  24.  1862. 

ORDERED,  That  all  applications  for  passes  and  permits  for  persons  or  property 
•within  the  lines  of  the  United  States  forces  shall  hereafter  be  made  to  Brigadier- 
General  Wadsworth,  Military  Governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  be 
subject  to  such  terms  and  conditions  as  he  may  prescribe. 

Signed,  EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

Sec  re /dry  of  }Var- 


General  Orders  No.   /. 


9TH     AND    IOTII     REGIMENTS,  \ 

R.  I.  VOLUNTEERS, 
TENNALLYTOWN,  D.  C.,  June  cjth,  1862.  ) 


1.  In  compliment  to  Brig.  General  Lyman  B.  Frieze,  Quartermaster-Gen,  of 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  this  camp  will  hereafter  be  known  as  Camp  Frieze. 

2.  The  strictest  discipline  and  good  order  will  be  observed,  and  all  derelictions 
from  duty,  or  failure  to  comply  with  these  orders,  will  be  promptly  reported  and 
summarily  punished. 

3.  It  is  indispensable  to  health   that  the  strictest   neatness    and    cleanliness 
should  prevail  :   no  nuisance  therefore  of  any  description  in  or  about  the  quarters 
will  be  tolerated,  and  all  slovenly  and  disorderly  habits  will  be  corrected. 

4.  The  camp  grounds  and  quarters  will  be  thoroughly  policed  each  morning 
immediately  after  reveille,  when  in  pleasant  weather  the  bed  sacks  and  blankets 
should  be  aired  and  exposed  for  half  an  hour  to  the  sun.     The  bed-  sacks  must 
then  be  put  in  order  and  the  blankets  neatly  folded.     Articles  of  clothing  must 
not  be  left  in  disorder  about  the  tents,  but  all  furniture,  clothing  and  equipments, 
must  be  arranged  in  their  proper  places  ready  for  inspection. 

5.  A  daily  detail  of  two  men  will  be  made  by  each  mess  to  serve   meals  and 
to  keep  the  dishes  and  table  furniture  clean  and  in  good  order.     All  mess  uten 
sils,  wash-basins,  &c.,  must  be  neatly  and  orderly  arranged  when  not  in  use.    A 
barrel  in  which  clean  water  must  be  kept,  will  be  furnished  to  each  mess,  and 
alho  a  barrel  in  which  all  slops  or  refuse  must  be  thrown.     No  water  or  litter  of 
any  description  must  be  thrown  or  permitted  to  remain  about  the  quarters. 


78  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

6.  At  all  meal  hours  a  commissioned  officer  will  superintend  the  issue  of  food 
to  the  detail  from  the  messes  of  their  respective  companies. 

7.  A  daily  police  guard  will  be  detailed  from  each  regiment  for  general  police 
duties,  the  officers  of  which  will  see  that  all  slop  barrels  are  removed  and  their 
contents  emptied  at  suitable  places  to  be  designated.     All  company  streets  and 
grounds  will  be  kept  in  order  by  the  companies  to  which  they  belong. 

8.  There  will  be  until  further  orders  the  following  calls  sounded  each  day  : 

1.  Rercillc  at  4!  o'clock  A.  M. 

2.  Police  call  immediately  after  first  roll  call. 

3.  Breakfast  call  at  6-i  A.  M. 

4.  Sick  call  at  7  A.  M.,  when  the  sick  will   report   themselves   to  the 
first  sergeants  of  their  respective  companies,  who  will  take  them  to  the 
surgeons  for  examination. 

5.  Adjutant's  call  at  Sf  A.  >i.,  when  the  guard  will  assemble  on  the 
parade.     Guard  mounting  at  9  A.  M.,  after  which  the  officers  of  the  day 
will  report  to  headquarters  for  orders. 

6.  Orderly  call  at  12  M.  when  the  first  sergeants  of  each  company  will 
report  to  the  Adjutant  for  orders,  and  will  receive  from  him  a  detail 
for  guard,  police  and  picket  duty  for  the  following  day. 

7.  Roast  beef  \\\\\  be  sounded  at  i  P.  M. 

8.  Supper  call  at  6i  p.  M. 

9.  Retreat  at   sunset  when  companies  will  be  formed  on  their  com 
pany  parades  under  arms. 

10.      Tattoo  at  9  P.  M. 

n.      Taps  at  9^  P.    M.   when  all  lights  must  be  extinguished  and  all 
noise  in  quarters  cease. 

9.  There  will  be  each  day  until  further  orders  the  following  roll  calls  : 

The  F^irtt  at  Reveille, 

The  Second  when  Roast  beef  is  sounded, 

The  Third  at  Retreat, 

The  Fourth  at  Tattoo. 

10.  The  Routine  for  the  day  will  be  until  further  orders  : 

i.     Squad  drills  from  5$  to  6|  A.  M.,  under  the  direction  of  a  sergeant 
and  superintended  by  the  company  officers. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  79 

2.  Peas  on  a  trencher  at  6i  A.  M. 

3.  Company  drill  from  10  to  11^  A.  M. 

4.  Roast  Beef  at  i  P.  M. 

5.  Company  drill  from  3  to  5  p.  M. 

6.  Supper  at  f4  P.  M. 

n.  The  morning  reports  of  companies  signed  by  the  captains  and  first  ser 
geants  must  be  handed  to  the  Adjutant  before  8  o'clock  A.  M.,  who  will  consoli 
date  them  within  the  next  hour  for  the  information  of  the  General  commanding 
the  brigade  to  which  these  regiments  are  attached,  and  make  his  report  at  head 
quarters. 

1 2.  On  Sunday  squad  and  company  drills  only  will  be  omitted.     At  9  o'clock 
each  company's  quarters  will  be  inspected  by  a  field  officer  attended  by  the  cap 
tain,  and  all  uncleanliness  or  want  of  attention  to  the  requirements  in  which  the 
quarters  are  to  be  kept,  will  be  reported  to  the  commanding  officer. 

13.  Divine  Service  will  be  held  every  Sunday  at  n  A.  M.  upon  grounds  to  be 
designated,  and  each  officer  and  soldier  not  on  duty  or  on  the  sick  report,  is  ex 
pected  to  be  present  neatly  dressed  in  uniform  without  arms. 

14.  The  body-belt  will  be  worn  on  all  occasions  when  the  officers  or  men  are 
out  of  camp,  and  no  article  of  dress  other  than  the  regular  uniform  prescribed 
for  these  regiments  will  be  permitted  to  be  worn  at  any  time. 

15.  No   salutes  will  be  given  between  Retreat  and  Reveille.     After  Guard 
Mounting,  the  officer  of  the  guard  will  see  that  the  muskets  of  the  old  guard  are 
discharged,  and  no  pieces  will  be  loaded  in  camp,  unless  by  special  order,  and  any 
soldier  disturbing  the  camp  by  discharging  his  musket  or  pistol  without  orders, 
will  be  immediately  reported  to  headquarters  for   punishment.     Muskets  when 
loaded  will  be  carried  at  the  half-cock. 

16.  No  horses  and  wagons  except  the  water-carts,  and  carts  for  the  removal 
of  slop  barrels,  will  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the  company  streets  or  between 
the  company  officers'  and  Field  officers'  quarters,  and  no  horses  will  be  permit 
ted  to  stand  in  rear  of  the  line  of  tents  occcupied  by  the  Field  and  Staff. 

By  order, 

CHARLES   T.  ROBBINS, 

Acting  Colonel  qth  it-  loth  R.  I.   l'o/s. 


SO  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

General  Orders  Number  One,  just  recited,  lays  out  the  pro 
gramme  of  work  for  each  day  :  Reveille  is  sounded  at  4.30  A.  M., 
when  the  roll  is  called  and  the  quarters  put  in  order.  One  of  the 
boys  thus  described  it:  "  Reveille  at  4.30  A.  M.  is  the  'cock 
crow  '  of  the  gallant  Ninth.  A  single  bugle  call  is  heard,  when 
instantly  the  proper  officer,  rouses  the  drum-corps ;  they  then 
beat  the  reveille,  the  sound  rolling  in  from  every  direction,  far 
and  near;  the  first  sergeants  are  running  down  the  company 
streets,  parting  the  tent-openings,  and  shouting  inside,  'Turn  out 
here  for  roll-call!'  The  men  turn  out,  in  every  imaginable  state 
of  dress  and  undress,  answer  to  their  names  in  the  roll-call,  in 
every  tone  and  compass  of  which  the  human  voice  is  capable,  a 
perfect  babel,  and  are  assigned  to  their  duties  for  the  day.  The 
whole  noisy  breeze  is  past  in  five  minutes,  and  the  day's  work 
begins.  But  let  us  not  overlook  the  poor  little  drummer  boy  in 
this  noise  of  reveille,  as  he  stands  at  his  tent  door,  half  awake, 
half  asleep,  'mit  nottings  on  sgarsly,'  unkempt,  shivering  or  half 
frozen,  peddling  around  his  rattling  'r-r-rap-a-tap-tap.'  At  half- 
past  five  we  have  '  squad  drill '  until  half-past  six,  then  '  peas  on 
a  trencher,'  which  means  breakfast.  At  ten  o'clock,  company 
drill  until  half-past  eleven.  At  one  o'clock,  '  roast  beef,'  which 
means  dinner.  At  three  o'clock,  drill,  until  five  o'clock.  Supper  at 
half-past  six,  and  at  sunset,  roll-call  for  retreat.  At  nine  o'clock 
p.  M.,  '  tattoo  and  roll-call,'  and  at  9.30, '  taps,'  which  means  all  lights 
in  camp  must  be  extinguished  and  all  noise  must  cease.  This  is 
the  regular  routine,  but  we  have  to  take  our  turn  for  guard  duty 
and  for  camp  police.  I  was  recently  one  of  a  detail  of  thirty  men 
for  police  duty.  Our  business  was  not  very  pleasant,  chiefly 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


Si 


Police  Duty. 


cleaning  up  the  streets  of 
the  camp  and  carting  off  the 
dirt  and  waste.  As  soon 
as  breakfast  was  over  the 
orderly  directed  each  man  to 
provide  himself  with  a  small 
bundle  of  sticks  or  brush, 
three  or  four  feet  long,  which 
was  bound  together,  for 
'  police  duty,'  which  meant 
cleaning  up  the  camp,  not  a 
particularly  pleasant  occu 
pation  on  a  dry  and  dusty  day, 
'  not  much  like  policemen's 
duty,'  one  of  the  boys  said.  The  weather  is  very  hot,  the  mer 
cury  registering  one  hundred  degrees  in  the  shade.  Tell  Captain 
Hale  that  we  are  practicing  '  double  quick '  every  day  so  that  we 
may  not  be  too  far  behind  when  that  foot-race  comes  off.  When 
Richmond  falls,  as  fall  it  must,  we  hope  they  will  send  us  home 
to  repose  upon  our  laurels.  Until  then  we  must  be  men  of  war. 
"Last  night  I  was  drawn  in  a  crowd  of  fifty  for  picket  duty 
and  it  promised  to  be  no  very  delightful  duty  either,  on  a  dark, 
rainy  night.  Soon  we  were  ordered  into  line,  armed  and  equipped 
with  plenty  of  ball  cartridges,  and  trudged  out  two  or  three  miles 
into  the  country.  Knowing  that  shooting  pickets  was  a  favorite 
amusement  with  the  prowling  secesh  in  the  vicinity,  we  found  the 
employment  quite  exciting,  and  as  I  filled  the  dignified  position  of 
corporal  of  the  guard,  I  managed  to  keep  my  eyes  open  and  the 
11 


NINTH    RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  83 

Union  safe  through  the  night,  and  at  daylight  we  splashed  through 
the  mud  back  to  camp  again,  pretty  well  drenched,  besides  being 
tired  and  sleepy.  As  soon  as  dismissed  we  rolled  into  the  straw 
as  we  were,  and  slept  until  ten  this  morning.  We  then  turned 
out,  and  some  of  us  bathed  in  a  mud-puddle.  I  then  breakfasted 
on  hard-bread  and  cheese,  and  now  I  am  ready  for  anything. 

"June  iSth.  We  have  at  last  got  our  full  equipments  and  cloth 
ing,  and,  among  other  things,  our  pantaloons,  for,  dreadful  to  re 
late,  we  have  all  had  to  wear  our  old  ones  that  we  brought  from 
home,  so  that  most  of  us  might  adopt  the  language  of  the  military 
tactics,  'to  the  rear  open  order.'  Some  of  them  are  misfits, 
and  much  too  large  for  the  boys.  They  remind  us  of  the  school 
boy's  trousers,  which  didn't  signify  whether  he  was  going  to 
school  or  coming  home.  On  Sundays  we  assemble  at  eleven 
o'clock  for  church,  and  again  at  six  o'clock  p.  M.,  for  dress  parade. 

"The  men  are  allowed  to  go,  now  and  then,  to  Chain  Bridge,  on 
the  Potomac,  for  bathing.  The  other  day  a  party  of  us  went,  and 
enjoyed  it  very  much.  It  is  a  beautiful  region,  but  completely 
studded  with  camps  and  forts.  After  getting  back  to  camp  it  oc 
curred  to  me  as  I  kicked  off  my  heavy  army  'whangs,'  as  our 
shoes  are  called,  that  a  nice,  easy  pair  of  slippers  would  be  agree 
able.  Another  towel,  also,  would  be  acceptable  when  you  send 
the  box.  Even  cake  would  not  go  amiss,  as  the  boys  of  the  mess 
will  gladly  share  it  with  me. 

"  June  i Qth.  Bread.  I  have  been  to  Washington  to-day  with  an 
order  for  to-morrow's  bread  for  the  regiment.  Brought  out  900 
loaves,  baked  in  the  basement  of  the  capitol.  They  bake  about 
21,000  loaves  per  day." 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


The  " rations"  were  rather  hard  to 
get  used  to,  but  the  men  of  the  Ninth 
soon  learned  that  a  soldier's  life  is  no 
holiday,  and  his  real  wants  necessarily 
simple  and  few,  so  that  there  was  really 
little  cause  for  complaint.  It  was  all 
in  getting  used  to  it. 

The  regular  army  "ration,"  as  estab 
lished  by  the  government,  for  each  sol 
dier,  was  composed  as  follows  :  Twelve 
ounces  of  pork  and  bacon,  or  twelve 
ounces  of  salt  or  fresh  beef;  twenty-two  ounces  of  soft  bread  or 
flour,  or  one  pound  of  hard  bread  (hard-tack),  or  twenty  ounces 
of  corn  meal ;  and  to  every  one  hundred  men,  fifteen  pounds  of 
beans  or  peas,  ten  pounds  of  rice,  or  hominy,  eight  pounds  of 
roasted  coffee,  or  twenty-four  ounces  of  tea,  fifteen  pounds  of 
sugar,  four  quarts  of  vinegar,  twenty  ounces  of  candles,  four 
pounds  of  soap,  four  pounds  of  salt,  four  ounces  of  pepper,  thirty 
pounds  of  potatoes  and  one  quart  of  molasses.  This  was  the 
"ration  "  the  first  year  of  the  war.  But  to  meet  the  wants  of 
fellows  with  big  appetites,  Congress  passed  an  act,  increasing  the 
allowance  of  several  of  the  items,  notably  ;  potatoes,  of  which  each 
man  was  to  have  one  pound  three  times  a  week,  "when  prac 
ticable."  But  as  the  war  wore  on,  most  of  the  less  important 
items  disappeared,  and  during  the  last  year  it  was  mostly  hard 
tack,  beans  and  coffee,  with  a  little  sugar  and  salt. 

"The  haversack  was  an  indispensable  part  of  our  outfit.     It 
consisted  of  a  black  canvass  bag  with   a  strap  attached  to  the 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  85 

opposite  side  to  adjust  it  to  the  neck  or  the  shoulder.  To  use 
the  language  of  an  old  soldier,  ''Your  haversack's  to  carry  your 
grub  in  !  Hold  on  to  your  haversack  through  thick  and  thin  ! 
It'll  be  the  best  friend  you'll  find  in  the  army  !  "  When  we  left 
Providence  our  haversacks  had  neat  white  cotton  linings,  but 
after  they  had  been  in  use  a  few  weeks  as  receptacles  for  chunks 
of  fat  meat,  damp  sugar  tied  up  in  a  rag,  broken  crackers  and 
bread,  with  a  lump  of  cheese  or  two,  they  took  on  the  color  of  a 
printing-office  towel.  We  were  told  that  they  were  water-proof,  but 
practically  they  were  quite  the  reverse.  Very  likely  you  would 
have  gone  hungry  a  good  while  before  eating  anything  out  of 
them.  Not  so  with  the  boys  of  the  Ninth. 

"The  'Camp-Kettle'  was  a  good  and  useful  article  of  furni 
ture,  made  of  heavy  black  sheet-iron,  very  tall,  and  of  the  same 
diameter  from  top  to  bottom.  All  were  of  the  same  height,  but 
there  were  three  or  four  sizes  of  them,  so  that  they  could  be  con 
veniently  'nested'  for  transportation.  They  were  chiefly  used  for 
making  coffee  and  bean  soup,  and  sometimes  for  laundry  purposes. 

"  The  'Canteen'  was  another  important  feature  of  our  outfit.  It 
was  a  simple  article  made  of  tin  and  covered  with  cloth,  shaped  like 
the  earth,  except  that  it  was  a  good  deal  more  '  flattened  at  the 
poles,'  and  with  a  cloth  strap  running  around  it  at  the  equator, 
by  which  it  was  suspended  over  one  shoulder  and  carried  against 
the  opposite  hip.  It  would  hold  about  three  pints.  Its  chief 
duty  was  for  the  transportation  of  water,  although  it  was  found 
equally  adapted  to  carry  some  other  things.  It  came  handy  to  the 
forager  for  milk,  cider  or  molasses.  In  very  rare  instances  it  was 
also  used  for  liquids  of  a  more  vigorous  and  searching  character. 


86  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

"  The  greatest,  or  at  least  the  most  trouble 
some  enemies  we  have  to  encounter  here  are 
the  wood-ticks.  As  I  never  knew  until  I 
came  here  what  they  were,  I  will  take  it  for 
granted  that  you  don't,  and  will  inform  you 
in  the  words  of  the  poet  : 

'De-fire-fly  hub  de  golden  wings. 

This    portrait    is    many  times  -p^      ..     ,   ,     •     ,  ,  ,      ,3 

De  hghtnin   bug  de  name, 

larger  than  he  really  was, 

De  wood-tick  he  hab  no  wing  at  all, 

but  not  half  as  b.g  as 


he  often  felt. 


But  ne      6^  ^ar  a^  ^6  same  ! 


They  infest  the  trees,  bushes,  grass,  and  apparently  everything 
else  out  of  doors.  We  are  seldom  conscious  of  their  presence, 
but  the  chief  end  and  object  of  their  existence  seems  to  be  to 
make  their  way  by  slow  degrees  under  our  skin,  where,  embedded 
in  the  flesh,  they  soon  become  very  disagreeable.  When  they 
make  up  their  mind  to  have  a  taste  of  Yankee  blood,  they  find 
easy  access  to  the  body  through  the  openings  of  the  uniform. 
I  have  found  several  of  them  already,  but  only  one  that  had 
made  any  progress  through  the  skin,  and  he  was  discovered  and 
executed  before  any  harm  was  done.  They  generally  put  their 
work  in  at  night,  and  neither  slumber  nor  sleep.  This  country 
appears  to  abound  in  such  creeping  things,  very  much  to  my 
disgust.  I  am  told  the  only  sure  way  to  exterminate  them  is  to 
boil  your  clothing." 

The  wood-ticks  and  gray-backs  were  the  great  pests  of  the 
Union  army  from  '61  to  '65.  One  of  the  great  problems  of  the 
war  was  how  to  get  rid  of  them.  They  attacked  all  the  soldiers, 
from  the  major-generals  down  to  the  privates. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


In  1 86 1  ev 
ery  consider 
able  eminence  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Na 
tional  Capital  was 
crowned  with  a  fort  or 
redoubt  well  mount 
ed.  Early  in  1862, 
the  second  of  the  war, 
the  number  of  these  works  was  fifty-two,  whose  names  and  loca 
tions  are  indicated  on  the  accompanying  map. 

This  system  of  works  was  so  complete,  that  at  no  time  after 
ward,  during  the  war,  did  the  Confederates  ever  seriously  attempt 
to  assail  them. 


WASHINGTON  AND  ITS  DEFENCES. 


88  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

The  month  of  June  was  spent  in  thorough  attention  to  drill,  and 
in  the  performance  of  picket  duty.  The  regiment  was  expected 
to  be  ready  for  "inspection"  every  Sunday  morning. 

After  getting  thus  comfortably  settled  down  at  Camp  Frieze, 
the  members  of  the  Ninth  were  surprised  to  receive  an  order  from 
Colonel  Pitman  to  be  ready  to  march  at  short  notice.  The  news 
spread  rapidly  through  the  neighborhood,  and  our  friends  began 
to  compliment  us,  supposing  that  we  were  likely  to  be  sent  towards 
"  the  front,"  but  that  seemed  hardly  probable  unless  McClellan 
should  suffer  an  overwhelming  defeat  and  the  enemy  make  an  ad 
vance  on  Washington,  in  force.  June  28th,  the  regiment  was  called 
at  early  dawn,  broke  up  its  camp,  hurriedly  partook  of  its  morning 
meal  of  salt-junk,  hard-tack  and  coffee,  and  started  at  sunrise  for 
Washington.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  the  men  started 
off  in  fine  spirits,  with  a  long  train  of  sixty  army  wagons,  loaded 
with  tents  and  other  camp  equipage.  A  march  of  seven  miles 
brought  them  to  Long  Bridge,  a  little  before. eight  o'clock,  with 
but  two  halts  of  five  minutes  each,  in  a  tramp  of  seven  miles.  The 
contrabands  in  fantastic  dress  and  head-gear  swarmed  about  the 
men  pressing  them  to  buy  their  pies,  gingerbread  and  hoe-cake. 
Said  one  of  the  men:  "The  sun's  rays  beat  down  fiercely  on 
the  perspiring  volunteers  of  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  as  we  went 
marching  over  Long  Bridge  and  planted  our  'whangs'  squarely 
upon  Virginia  sacred  soil,  which  appeared  to  rise  indignant  in  our 
faces,  completely  enveloping  us  in  a  very  fine  dust,  which  stuck 
to  us  like  wax,  and  entered  our  eyes,  mouths  and  noses,  adding 
greatly  to  the  discomforts  of  the  long  march.  It  was  a  very  hot 
day,  if  not  the  hottest  we  ever  experienced,  but  we  keep  tramping 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


on   in    the    cloud    of    dust 
with  but  two  halts,  the  lat 
ter  of  about  one  hour,  to 
consult  about  our  route  of 
march.     Then   we  started 
again,  and  at  length  reached 
Alexandria,     said     to     be 
seven    miles    from    Long 
Bridge.     We  then  made  a 
detour   of    two    or    three 
miles  around  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  through  marshy 
fields  and  rough   roads  un 
til  at  length  the  drum  gave  A  Hot  Day for  the  Nmth  Rhode  lsland- 
the  welcome  signal   for  the  final  halt,  and   the   weary  and  dusty 
men  dropped  by  the  roadside   all   pretty  well  used  up, — and  glad 
enough  to  'call  it  a  day's  work,'  and  find  needed  rest.     One  of  the 
privates    of    Company   K,    William    Henry    Harrison    Swan,    es 
caped    the    long    march,    as    follows  :     The    day    before    we    left 
Camp  Frieze  found   him   suffering  with  a  severe  and  protracted 
attack  of   side-ache,  and  on  recommendation  of  the  'orderly  ser 
geant  '  he  went  to  the  doctor  with   a   request   for   some  mustard, 
for  an  external  application,     tie  was  also  warned  to  get  a  supply 
of  the  article  for  seasoning  the  'orderly's'  salt-horse  or  beef.     He 
succeeded  in  getting  a  satisfactory  amount  of  mustard,  but  igno- 
rantly  made  a  direct  application  in  full  strength  to  his  lame  side. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  moving  around  lively  in  great   distress, 
and   when  we  left   for  Fairfax  his   side   was   badly  blistered  and 
12 


-90  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

swollen.  He  was  deposited  in  one  of  the  wagons,  and  thus  rode 
to  Fairfax.  He  afterwards  claimed  to  be  the  best  'mustered'  re 
cruit  in  the  Ninth.  After  narrating  the  incident  to  Sergt.  Charles 
P.  Gay,  of  the  Tenth,  a  few  days  ago,  he  added,  *  singularly 
enough,!  have  never  had  the  side-ache  since,  and  never  was  "mus 
tered  out."  After  the  march,  hard-tack  and  coffee  were  served, 
and  I  tell  you  it  went  good.  As  the  first  encampment  was  named 
4  Camp  Frieze'  the  second  was  appropriately  termed  'Camp 
Scorch,'  or  'Camp  Misery.'  Not  a  tree  is  in  sight,  everything  has 
been  removed  to  clear  the  way  before  the  guns  of  the  forts.  In 
the  vicinity  are  Forts  Ward,  Worth,  Lyon  and  Blenker ;  the  camp 
being  upon  an  elevated  site,  we  have  a  fine  view  of  Washington 
and  the  Potomac.  Fairfax  Seminary  is  near  by." 

The  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade,  Reserve  Army 
Corps,  south  of  the  Potomac,  commanded  by  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss, 
of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  Acting  Brigadier-General. 
The  brigade  consisted  of  Battery  L,  Second  New  York ;  Battery  C, 
First  New  York ;  Sixteenth  Indiana  Battery,  Ninth  and  Tenth 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  Thirty-Second  Massachusetts  Volun 
teers,  Second  Excelsior  Battery,  and  the  Twelfth  Pennsylvania 
Cavalry.  The  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Battery,  Captain  Gallup,  was 
stationed  about  a  mile  from  camp,  near  Cloud's  Mills.  This  for 
ward  movement  of  the  forces  around  Washington  was  made  to 
.support  the  advance  of  General  McDowell's  Corps  towards  Rich 
mond,  to  co-operate  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  General 
McClellan,  in  the  reduction  of  the  confederate  capital.  But  on 
June  26th,  after  the  indecisive  battle  of  Gaines's  Mills,  McClellan 
-commenced  his  retreat  to  the  James  River.  The  campaign  against 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


Richmond  had  ended  in 
failure,  June  3Oth,  and  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  had 
retired  to  a  new  base  of 
operations  at  Harrison's 
Landing.  McDowell's 
army  was  ordered  back  to 
Fredericksburg,  and  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers  with 
other  organizations  were 
ordered  back  to  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  forts  sur- 
r  o  u  n  d  i  n  g  Washington. 
The  Ninth  Regiment  re 
turned  by  water  to  Wash 
ington  by  the  way  of  Alexandria.  It  was  an  ancient  and  dilapi 
dated  looking  place,  trying  to  live  on  its  old  reputation  in  slave- 
holding  days.  "We  marched,"  says  a  correspondent,  "by  the 
historic  Marshall  House  where  the  youthful  commander,  Colonel 
Ellsworth,  had  been  shot  in  1861.  Alexandria  had  been  in  quiet 
possession  of  the  National  troops  since  May  of  that  year,  but  there 
were  many  violent  secessionists  there  who  would  not  submit. 
Among  them  was  a  man  named  Jackson,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Marshall  House.  The  Confederate  flag  had  been  flying  over 
his  premises  for  many  days,  and  had  been  plainly  visible  from 
the  President's  house  in  Washington.  It  was  still  there  when 
Colonel  Ellsworth  went  in  person,  with  a  few  of  his  men,  to 


The  Marshall    House. 


92 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


Col.  Elmer  E.  Ellswoith. 


take  it  down.  When  descending  an 
upper  staircase  with  the  flag,  which 
he  had  lowered,  he  was  shot  by 
Jackson,  who  was  waiting  for  him  in 
a  dark  passage  with  a  double-barreled 
gun  loaded  with  buck-shot.  Ells 
worth  fell  dead,  and  his  murderer 
met  the  same  fate  an  instant  after 
wards  at  the  hands  of  Francis  E. 
Brownell,  who  with  six  others  had 
accompanied  his  commander  to  the 
roof  of  the  house.  He  shot  Jackson  through  the  heart  with  a 
bullet,  and  pierced  his  body  several  times  with  his  sabre-bayonet. 
Ellsworth's  body  was  borne  in  sadness  to  Washington,  where 
funeral  services  were  held  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House, 
with  President  Lincoln  as  chief  mourner."  Ellsworth  was  a  very 
young  and  attractive  officer,  and  greatly  beloved  for  his  bravery 
and  patriotism.  His  death  produced  great  excitement  throughout 
the  country.  It  was  one  of  the  first  that  had  occurred  in  conse 
quence  of  the  National  troubles. 

"Leaving  Alexandria  the  Ninth  Regiment  embarked  on  board 
'the  steamer  Hero,  for  Washington.'  After  a  splendid  run  of 
about  an  hour  we  landed  near  the  Arsenal,  and  then  marched  a 
short  distance  till  we  came  to  a  fine  piece  of  turfed  ground,  where 
we  rested  about  two  hours,  while  the  colonel  departed  for  orders. 
Resuming  our  march  we  passed  near  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol, 
by  the  Navy  Yard,  across  the  east  branch  of  the  Potomac, 
through  a  little  place  called  Union  Town,  up  and  over  some  of 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  93 

the  longest  and  steepest  hills,  until  covered  with  dust,  we  halted 
at  a  fork  in  the  roads,  where  the  regiment  was  divided;  Captain 
McCloy's  company,  with  three  others  passed  on  to  the  right,  and 
the  remaining  ones,  moved  straight  on,  and  soon  reached  their 
destination.  The  regiment  is  now  distributed  among  ten  or  a 
dozen  forts,  extending  around  Washington,  on  the  east  side,  and 
relieved  the  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  who  joined 
the  army  of  General  McClellan  on  the  Peninsula.  One  of  the 
forts,  Wagner,  mounts  four  thirty-two-pounders,  which  goes  to 
show  that  our  men  are  to  learn  to  be  artillerymen.  Fort  Wagner 
is  finely  situated,  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  city  and  the 
Potomac,  and  commands  an  extensive  view.  There  is  an  abun 
dance  of  water,  shade,  and  pure  air.  There  is  also  a  great  supply 
of  nothing  to  eat,  as  all  we  have  is  what  was  left  of  the  rations  we 
brought  from  Camp  Misery,  in  our  haversacks,  yesterday  morning. 

"  The  distribution  of  the  companies  is  as  follows  :  Company  A, 
Capt.  Robert  McCloy,  at  Fort  Greble  ;  Company  F,  Capt.  John 
M.  Taylor,  Fort  Carroll ;  Company  D,  Capt.  John  McKinley, 
Fort  Snyder ;  Company  I,  Capt.  Samuel  Pierce,  Fort  Stanton  ; 
Company  C,  Capt.  John  A.  Bowen,  Fort  Ricketts  ;  Company  H, 
Capt.  Henry  F.  Jenks,  Fort  Wagner;  Company  E,  Capt.  Isaac 
Place,  and  Company  K,  Capt.  James  R.  Holden,  Fort  Baker 
(regimental  headquarters)  ;  Company  G,  Capt.  Charles  L.  Watson, 
Fort  Dupont ;  Company  B,  Capt.  Henry  C.  Card,  Fort  Meigs  ; 
Company  L,  Capt.  Benjamin  L.  Slocum,  Fort  Davis. 

"  We  have  neither  tents,  blankets,  overcoats,  or  clothing,  except 
what  we  marched  in  yesterday  ;  all  are  in  the  wagons,  which  have 
not  as  yet  reached  camp.  But  most  of  us  had  foraged  plenty 


NINTH    RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  95 

of  cherries  and  blackberries,  and  some  of  the  boys  had  found 
little  difficulty  in  deluding  some  cows  into  the  belief  that  they 
were  their  own  calves,  so  that  we  became  quite  reconciled  to  the 
non-appearance  of  our  baggage  wagons.  Soon  Captain  Jenks 
announced  that  he  had  made  arrangements  for  hot  coffee,  and  the 
use  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  near  by,  for  our 
company  to  lodge  in.  So  we  shouldered  our  muskets,  and 
marched  into  the  church,  a  small  brick  edifice,  about  the  form 
and  size  of  a  New  England  country  school-house.  It  was  nearly 
new,  and  quite  neat  and  clean,  and  we  slept  none  the  worse  for 
its  being  a  negro  church.  Some  of  the  men  were  disappointed 
because  they  found  no  cushions  on  the  seats,  for  myself  I  gladly 
stretched  myself  upon  one  of  them  near  the  pulpit,  with  my 
cartridge-box  for  a  pillow  and  slept  the  sleep  of  the  weary,  while 
the  boys  were  making  the  house  ring  with  their  vocal  music, 
singing  army  songs  mixed  with  hymns  and  psalms;  yet  I  think 
I  never  slept  more  soundly. 

"  July  4th.  To-day,  at  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  I  commenced  my  duties 
as  sergeant  of  the  guard.  The  guard  is  divided  into  three  'reliefs,' 
each  'relief  being  on  duty  two  hours  and  four  hours  off  duty. 
The  officer  of  the  guard,  instead  of  pacing  a  beat,  remains  in 
the  fort  ready  to  attend  to  any  call. 

"  July  Qth.  Yesterday  I  proposed  to  our  mess  that  we  have  a 
blackberry  pudding,  they  agreed  at  once,  and  by  request  I  went 
to  the  store  and  bought  five  pounds  of  flour,  some  butter  and 
sugar,  and  while  I  was  gone  the  boys  went  out  and  picked  three 
quarts  of  berries,  and  we  soon  had  our  pudding  boiling  in  three 
bags.  It  was  very  fine,  some  of  the  boys  pronouncing  it  almost 
as  good  as  'mother  made  at  home.' 


96 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


"  Our   washerwoman  is  a  curious,  good-na 
tured  old   darkey,  who  is  generally  found  at 
home  among  her  pigs,  chickens  and   "chill- 
uns."     She   lives   in  a  very  modest  sort  of  a 
cabin,  keeps  her  cow,  sells  some  butter,  and 
like  most  of  the  "cullud  folks"  around  here 
appears  to    get  on   very  well.     The    contra 
bands  are  friendly,  freely  lend  us  any  of  their 
household  utensils,  and  welcome  us  to  their 
social    gatherings.     You    should    hear   their 
singing.      I  can  give  you  no  adequate  idea  of 
their  sweet  rendering  of   the  old  plantation 
melodies  and  gospel  choruses.     Some  of  the 
boys  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
are  "the  best  society  of  the  place."     To-day 
our  washerwoman.          is  washing  day,  and  "  auntie"  has  come  for 
our  clothes  which  she  does  up  brown  at  the  rate  of  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  cents  per  dozen.     All  well — with  prospect  of  a  scorching  day, 
as  usual.     Temperature  way  up  among  the  nineties. 

"Quartermaster  George  Lewis  Cooke  (promoted  to  major,  July 
3d),  is  a  busy  man.  Although  surrounded  with  stores,  he  can  hardly 
find  time  to  eat  his  own  meals,  and  this  morning,  I  noticed  him, 
bright  and  early,  at  the  commissary  store-house  in  the  general 
post-office  building  at  Washington,  as  busy  as  a  bee  in  loading  up 
his  teams.  It  is  said  that  he  can  provide  everything  for  our 
comfort,  from  a  tent  pin  to  a  twenty-inch  collar." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Evening  Press,  wrote  July  24th : 
"  Judging  from  the  weather  tables  spread  before  your  readers 


98 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


Maj.  George  Lewis  Cooke. 


so  regularly  in  your  columns,  you  have  had 
hot  days  at  home,  but  here,  we  of  the 
Ninth  have  sweltered  through  the  blazing 
hours  of  clays  and  weeks  together,  on  the 
bare  summit  of  a  shadeless  hill,  our  only 
comfort  being  to  look  down  upon  smoky 
Washington  and  say  '  Sorry  for  the  Sen 
ators.'  Our  post,  the  regimental  head 
quarters,  is  named  in  honor  of  the  brave 
Senator  Baker,  who  made  the  name  heroic 
at  Ball's  Bluff  ;  but  we  get  familiar  with  heroism — we  soldiers — 
and  have  taken  the  liberty  of  calling  our  earth-works  'the  Bakery.' 
According  to  our  'Cooke,'  however,  we  shall  all  be  'done'  in 
about  thirty  days  more.  An  admirable  'Cooke,'  a  very  'model 
cook,'  have  we ;  but  I  cannot  speak  of  his  praises  without  includ 
ing  our  other  field  officers.  We  pit  our  colonel  against  'any  other 
man  ' ;  and  to  say  of  our  lieutenant-colonel  that  he  is  'every  inch 
a  soldier,'  is  to  give  him  only  about  seventy-six  inches  of  justice. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Powell  is  a  faithful  and  accomplished  officer 
and  has  won  the  respect  of  all.  The  three  officers  are  sleeplessly 
vigilant.  Many's  the  night  on  which  they  gird  on  sword  and 
pistol,  mount  their  chargers,  and  spur  away  through  the  woods. 
.  .  .  Weary  and  worn,  wet  with  the  night  dews,  they  return 
during  the  small  hours.  May  the  consciousness  of  having  done 
their  duty  faithfully,  at  their  own  risk,  without  calling  upon  any 
one  to  aid  them,  be  their  sufficient  reward." 

Another  correspondent  describes  what  he  saw  at  Fort  Wagner, 
the  quarters  of  Company  H.      He  says  :    "Col.  J.  A.  Haskin — an 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


99 


Lieut.-Col.  John  H.  Powell. 


officer  who  left  his  arm  at  Chepultepec,  but 
who  has  never  left  anywhere  a  certain 
cheerful  manliness  which  secures  the  admi 
ration  of  all  who  meet  him — has  charge  of 
the  defences  north  of  the  Potomac.  He 
often  visits  our  forts,  and  the  other  day, 
just  after  battalion  drill,  he  asked  to  see  a 
specimen  of  our  proficiency  in  handling 
the  32-pounders.  Either  because  Fort 
Wagner  was  close  at  hand,  or  because  of 
a  dim  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  Colonel  Pitman  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Powell  that  Company  H  would  as  fairly  represent  the  artil- 
leryism  of  the  regiment  as  any  other  men,  the  little  fortress  com 
manded  by  Capt.  Henry  F.  Jenks  was  chosen  as  the  scene  of  opera 
tions.  Two  or  three  hours  of  field  drill,  under  the  sun,  hadn't 
quite  taken  all  the  starch  out  of  the  Pawtucketers,  and  they  were 
ready. 

"  I  could  the  better  describe  artillery  practice  were  I  sure 
whether  the  ' cascable'  should  first  be  removed  from  the  muzzle, 
or  the  'tompion  '  secured  to  the  breech  ;  but  ignorant  as  I  am  of 
the  nomenclature  of  big  guns  and  the  details  of  loading  and  firing 
them,  I  could  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  'babes'  of  Company  H 
were  lively,  rather,  and  that  between  'From  Battery'  and  'Fire,' 
the  intervals  were  busy  and  brief. 

"  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  '32-pounders'  weigh  only 
thirty-two  pounds  ;  they  are  in  fact  much  heavier.  Several  of 
them  will  weigh  a  good  deal.  On  a  warm  day  the  metal  becomes 
penetrated  with  heat,  and  reflects  caloric  upon  all  who  approach 


IOO  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

A  short  corporal  of  Company  H  has  assured  me  that  it  is  con 
ducive  to  perspiration  to  stand  long  near  these  guns.  He  thinks, 
I  suppose,  that  the  shorter  you  stand  by  them  the  better.  Speak 
ing  of  size,  I  may  remark  that  very  few  of  the  members  of  Com 
pany  H  are  eminent  for  personal  altitude  ;  indeed,  on  account  of 
their  juvenility  of  stature  and  appearance,  they  are  sometimes 
called  '  the  babies '  by  the  bearded  men  of  other  companies.  It  may 
be  said,  however,  by  your  correspondent,  that  if  infants  can  handle 
the  thirty-two  pounders  as  they  do,  what  a  racket,  with  hand 
spikes  and  rammers,  there  must  be,  when  adults  take  hold. 

"Out  of  tender  compassion,  of  course,  for  these  ' babes  in 
arms/  the  men  of  the  Ninth  allowed  the  boys  of  Company  H  to 
take  the  prize  from  them  all,  at  our  recent  '  target-shoot.'  General 
orders  were,  a  week  before,  that  each  company  should  keep  accu 
rate  account  of  its  target  practice  for  the  week,  and  send  the 
record  of  its  five  best  shots  to  headquarters  for  a  regimental  trial 
of  skill.  A  prize  of  five  dollars  was  made  up  by  the  field-officers, 
to  give  a  little  more  interest  to  the  trial,  but  the  chief  incitement 
was  honor  rat  her  than  gold.  Last  Saturday  morning  the  squads 
of  five  came  in,  each  man  clasping  his  polished  Enfield,  while  the 
expectation  of  V-ictory  gleamed  upon  his  sunburnt  brow.  Target 
at  two  hundred  yards ;  three  rounds  to  each  man  ;  result,  Com 
pany  H  ahead  of  all  others.  Then  came  the  trial  to  decide  who 
of  the  five  of  H  should  get  the  five  of  dollars.  Out  of  their  fifteen 
shots  at  this  last,  eleven  hit  the  target,  and  Sergt.  Ambrose  P. 
Rice  made  the  closest  shooting  and  won  the  '  Five.'  '  Alas  !  that 
this  gallant  soldier,  who  afterwards  re-entered  the  service,  should 
have  perished  of  starvation  in  the  Andersonville  prison  pen  ! 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  IOI 

"It  is  noticeable  that  there  has  been  less  talk  about  'weaning 
the  babies'  of  Company  H,  since  these  ' enfants  terribles'  have 
won  at  the  target  match  for  which,  and  at  which,  the  whole 
regiment  did  its  best.  Captain  Jenks  takes  some  pride,  also, 
in  the  general  drill  and  behavior  of  the  little  ones  committed 
to  his  charge.  He  will  not  admit,  and  few  others  will  affirm,  that 
they  can  be  surpassed  in  the  manual  of  arms.  And  it  is  to  the 
credit  of  any  company  to  stand  comparatively  well  with  them  in 
the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers.  We  shall  not  be  unwilling 
to  compare  ourselves  with  our  predecessors  or  our  contemporaries, 
on  Dexter  Training  Ground,  or  anywhere  else,  when  we  get  back 
to  the  martial  city  of  Providence.  In  comparative  anatomy, 
philology,  entomology  and  cookery,  we  may  be  surpassed  by  the 
'inimitable'  punsters  of  the  'Tenth  Rhode  Island,'  but  in  drill, 
dear  friends,  we  venture,  humbly,  to  claim  that  you  can't  sustain 
a  spermaceti  to  us." 

"July  3<Dth.  General  orders  were  read  to-day,  to  the  effect  that 
our  term  of  service  will  expire  August  26th,  and  that  permission 
is  granted  to  any  member  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  to  re-enlist  in 
the  new  Seventh  Rhode  Island  Regiment,  now  being  organized, 
and  who  can  thereupon  be  mustered  out  of  the  Ninth  and  into 
the  Seventh." 

Another  correspondent  says  :  "  Yesterday,  I  paid  a  visit  to  a  few 
of  the  forts  on  the  east  of  the  city,  garrisoned  by  our  gallant  boys 
of  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  a 
battalion  drill.  Although  these  drills  are  in  great  disrepute  with 
the  men  these  hot  midsummer  days,  yet  they  are  undoubtedly 
the  basis  of  their  military  proficiency.  The  accuracy  of  their 


102 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


drill,  and  general  excellence  in  battalion  movements,  call  forth 
the  warmest  commendations  of  all  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  wit 
ness  them,  and  should  afford  ample  compensation  to  the  men  of 
the  Ninth,  for  the  physical  hardships  they  have  endured  in  acquir 
ing  their  present  military  status." 

"  The  different  companies  of  the  regiment  are  provided  with  the 
large  Sibley  tents,  and  if  the  number  of  tents  were  only  increased, 


The  Sibley  Tent. 


The  "A"  Tent. 


The  Shelter  Tent. 


they  would  be  very  comfortable ;  but  to  have  nineteen  or  twenty 
men  sleeping  in  one  tent  in  this  warm  weather  seems  rather  close 
packing."  But  the  Sibley  tent  soon  had  to  "go."  The  armies  of 
the  Union  were  growing  rapidly,  and  the  shrinkage  of  tents 
began.  "In  the  years  1861  and  1862  most  of  the  troops  on  taking 
the  field  were  furnished  with  the  Sibley  tent.  It  was  quite  a 
spacious  pavilion,  large  enough  almost  for  a  good  size  circus  side 
show.  When  pitched  it  was  a  perfect  cone  in  shape,  the  apex 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  103 

being  fully  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  The  foot  of  the  centre- 
pole  was  held  in  position  by  an  iron  frame,  called  a  tri-pod,  the 
three  legs  of  which  straddled  out  like  those  of  a  daddy-long-legs. 
This  straddling  attachment  seems  to  have  been  invented  expressly 
for  the  soldiers  to  stumble  over  when  moving  about  at  night. 
It  served  its  purpose  admirably.  Five  or  six  and  sometimes  eight 
Sibley  tents  were  supplied  to  a  company,  and  the  men  were 
packed  like  sardines  in  a  box,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in  each  tent. 
At  night  they  lay  with  their  feet  mixed  up  around  the  centre-pole, 
their  heads  fringing  the  outer  line.  Each  man's  knapsack  marked 
the  particular  section  of  ground  that  belonged  to  him.  When  the 
messes  were  very  full  the  men  slept  like  a  great  circular  row  of 
spoons,  and  if  one  wanted  to  turn  over  to  give  the  bones  on  the 
other  side  a  chance,  he  would  yell  out  the  order  to  *  flop '  and  all 
would  go  over  together,  thus  reversing  the  spoon  along  the  whole 
line.  But  the  Sibley  tents  proved  to  be  cumbrous  things  to 
handle,  and  enormously  bulky.  A  regiment  with  sixty  of  them 
and  all  other  baggage  in  proportion,  required  a  train  of  wagons 
sufficient  to  transport  a  menagerie.  So  the  Sibley  tent  had  to  '  go. ' 
New  and  larger  calls  for  troops  were  made,  and  it  became  a  grave 
question  whether  there  were  in  the  country  enough  mules  avail 
able  to  haul  Sibleys  for  a  million  men.  The  second  year  of  the 
war  the  skrinkage  began.  After  the  Sibley  came  the  A  or 
Wedge  tent — the  shape  of  which  is,  perhaps  indicated  clearly 
enough  by  its  name — and  the  "Bell"  tent,  much  like  it,  except 
that  it  swelled  out  at  each  end,  increasing  its  capacity.  Five  or 
six  men  could  be  comfortably  domiciled  in  the  A  tent,  and  from 
eight  to  ten  in  the  Bell.  A  year  or  so  later  the  quartermaster 


IO4  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

gave  the  thumb-screw  another  turn  and  squeezed  out  the  unique 
shelter  tent,  which  was  as  near  the  point  of  none  at  all  as  it  was 
possible  to  reach.  To  each  man  was  given  a  piece  of  stout  cotton 
cloth,  about  six  feet  long  and  four  feet  wide;  along  one  edge  half 
of  them  had  a  row  of  buttons,  and  the  other  half  had  buttonholes 
to  correspond.  It  took  two — one  of  each  kind — to  make  a  shelter 
tent,  in  which  two  men  were  to  live  and  move,  and  have  their 
being.  The  shelter-tent  was  three  feet  high  to  the  ridge,  and  the 
'  spread  '  at  the  bottom  was  about  four  feet.  It  was  soon  dubbed 
the  '.pup'  tent,,  and  henceforward  to  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
'pup'  tent  became  the  only  protection  of  our  armies  from  the 
sun  and  storm."  Lieut. -Col.  Hinman's  "  Corporal  Klegg." 

The  hot  summer  of  1862  was  passed  away  in  the  forts  manned 
by  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  in  regular  drills  and 
customary  fortification  duties,  preparing  those  who  afterwards 
re-enlisted  for  greater  efficiency.  Fort  life  thus  proved  an  excel 
lent  school  for  military  order  and  improvement.  The  separation 
of  the  companies  necessarily  prevented  much  regimental  inter 
course  and  the  monotony  of  spare  hours  was  broken  by  such 
sports  as  were  warranted  within  the  limits  of  a  fortification,  and 
by  frequent  correspondence  with  home. 

Sergt.  H.  H.  Richardson,  of  Company  H,  wrote  home: 
"Some  of  us  were  in  Washington  yesterday,  and  I  managed  to 
dispatch  my  business  quite  early,  so  that  I  had  no  need  to  hurry 
back  to  camp.  I  sent  the  team  back  and  devoted  the  re 
mainder  of  the  day  to  visiting  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  and  the 
halls  of  Congress.  I  have  become  somewhat  familiar  with  the 
intricate  passages  about  the  Capitol  so  that  I  can  find  what  I 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


want  without  difficulty.  I  find  it  quite  in 
teresting  to  visit  the  House  and  the  Senate, 
and  listen  to  the  debates,  especially  in  the 
Senate,  where  Vice-President  Hamlin  is  the 
presiding  officer,  and  where  I  can  hear  many 
of  our  most  noted  men,  whose  names  have 
long  been  familiar  to  us.  The  House  of 
Representatives  is  the  much  larger  and  the 
popular  body.  The  speaker  is  Mr.  Grow, 
of  Pennsylvania." 

Vice-President  Hamlin,  statesman  and  governor  of  Maine, 
served  as  United  States  Senator  from  that  state  for  several 
terms,  until  1861,  when  he  resigned,  having  been  elected  vice- 
president  on  the  ticket  with  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  presided  over 
the  Senate  from  March  4,  1861,  till  March  3,  1865.  When 
elected  vice-president  with  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1861,  he  accepted  an 
invitation  to  visit  the  latter  at  Chicago,  and,  calling  on  the  Presi 
dent-elect,  found  him  in  a  room  alone.  Mr.  Lincoln  arose,  and 
coming  toward  his  guest,  said  abruptly:  "  Have  we  ever  been 
introduced  to  each  other,  Mr.  Hamlin  ?"  "  No  sir,  I  think  not," 
was  the  reply.  "That  also  is  my  impression,"  continued  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "but  I  remember  distinctly  while  I  was  in  Congress  to 
have  heard  you  make  a  speech  in  the  Senate.  I  was  very  much 
struck  with  that  speech,  Senator — particularly  struck  with  it— 
and  for  the  reason  that  it  was  filled,  chock  up,  with  the  very  best 
kind  of  anti-slavery  doctrine."  "Well  now,"  replied  Hamlin, 
laughing,  "  that  is  very  singular,  for  my  own  and  first  recollec 
tion  of  yourself  is  of  having  heard  you  make  a  speech  in  the 

14 


io6 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


'  House,'  a  speech  that  was  so  full  of  good 
humor  and  sharp  points  that  I,  together 
with  others  of  your  auditors  were  convulsed 
with  laughter."  The  acquaintance  thus 
cordially  begun,  ripened  into  a  close  friend 
ship,  and  it  is  affirmed  that  during  all  the 
years  of  trial,  war  and  bloodshed  that  fol 
lowed,  Abraham  Lincoln  continued  to  re 
pose  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  friend 
and  official  associate,  Hannibal  Hamlin. 
Galusha  A.  Grow,  statesman,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and 
had  rendered  important  service  in  Congress  previous  to  the  war 
for  the  Union,  and  helped  secure  the  election  of  Nathaniel  P. 
Banks  as  speaker  of  the  House,  and  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  as  President  of  the  United  States,  in  1860.  At  the  con 
vening  of  the  first,  or  extra  session  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Con 
gress,  on  July  4,  1861,  Mr.  Grow  was  elected  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  held  the  position  until  March  4, 
1863,  when,  on  retiring,  he  received  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks, 
the  first  vote  of  the  kind  given  to  any  speaker  in  many  years. 

"I  don't  see  anything  in  the  papers  about  a  scarcity  of  specie 
at  the  North.  It  is  worth  ten  per  cent,  premium  in  Washington. 
It  is  now  four  o'clock,  and  the  order  will  soon  be  given  for  'Dress 
Parade,'  so  I  must  stop  and  give  my  '  whangs  '  a  little  polish,  and 
equip  myself  in  all  the  paraphernalia  of  war." 

"July  230!.  An  order  has  just  been  issued  by  our  general-in- 
chief,  Pope,  forbidding  all  officers  or  soldiers  leaving  their  camp 
on  any  account,  without  an  order  from  his  headquarters.  This 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  IOJ 

shuts  us  up  pretty  close,  and  had  it  been  in  force  when  we  went 
on  our  night  expeditions  to  Washington,  we  should  very  likely 
have  been  taken  prisoners  by  the  provost  guard. 

"  If  we  remain  here  very  long  we  shall  have 
to  fall  back  upon  General  Pope's  late  general 
order,    July   18,  that   the  troops   in  the  army 
under    his  command   (and  we  are)  shall  draw 
their   subsistence   from    the    region  in  which 
they  may  be  quartered.     There  is   no  doubt 
but  that  we  might  do  that  to  our  hearts'  con- 
tent    without    robbing  a   single    Union   man.       tf         ^ 
Twice  since  we  have  been  here  a  body  of  cav-    S^^*^'  ^f*--^ — 
airy  have  moved  past  our  camp  scouting,  and        [A  Recent  picture.] 
both  times,  after  being  away  several  days,  have  brought  in  several 
prisoners.     Day  before  yesterday  they  went  by  with  ten  or  twelve 
prisoners,  among  them  one  wearing  a  captain's  uniform.     He  was 
taken  within  five  or  six  miles  of  here. 

" A  court-martial  is  now  in  session  in  the  Ninth  regiment. 
Lieut.  Francello  G.  Jillson,  of  Company  G,  is  the  judge-advocate. 
The  court  sits  Wednesday  and  Saturday  of  each  week,  provided 
there  is  any  business  before  it.  Several  cases  have  been  disposed 
of  for  fighting,  stealing  and  sleeping  on  guard,  My  duties  are  sim 
ilar  to  those  of  a  sheriff  in  the  civil  courts,  viz.  :  To  bring  in  the 
prisoners  for  trial  and  return  them  to  the  guard-house  and  to  see 
that  witnesses  are  in  attendance.  A  few  days  ago,  while  the 
court  was  in  session  a  most  terrific  whirlwind  came  up,  bringing 
with  it  such  dense  clouds  of  dust  as  to  completely  conceal  from 
view  objects  not  ten  feet  distant. 


loS 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT. 


That  august  body,  the  court, 
was  scattered,  and  with  the 
judge  left  for  parts  unknown, 
leaving  only  your  valiant  ser 
geant  and  six  guards,  with 
five  prisoners  in  charge.  The 
tent  itself  now  violently 
threatened  to  disperse  and 
follow  the  court,  but  by  the 
united  efforts  of  sergeant, 
guards  and  prisoners,  who  all 
lent  a  hand,  one  at  each 
tent-pin,  the  court-house  was 
saved  from  demolition. 
When  the  lowering  elements 
finally  subsided  and  peace  was  restored,  it  was  no  small  task  to 
remove  the  dust  which  had  accumulated  on  the  premises.  Upon 
the  reassembling  of  the  court  its  members  appeared  metamor 
phosed  from  a  group  of  spruce,  blue-uniformed  Federal  officers 
into  a  sorry  looking  set  of  fellows,  wearing  a  garb  of  sackcloth 
and  ashes. 

"  We  are  now  practising  daily  on  our  heavy  guns.  In  the 
morning  and  every  afternoon  we  have  battalion  drill  at  head 
quarters,  under  the  immediate  orders  of  Colonel  Pitman.  We 
drill  in  battalion  movements  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time.  The 
more  distant  companies  are  conveyed  to  and  from  the  field  in  our 
army  wagons,  but  we,  being  quite  near,  march.  Some  of  the 
officers  appeared  at  first  to  be  sadly  ignorant  of  military  phrases, 


Colonel  Pitman  at  Battalion  Drill. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  IOQ 

and  the  movements  executed  were  something  startling."  Said  one 
of  the  boys,  "it  reminded  me  of  the  officer  whose  last  command 
had  been  a  pair  of  draft  horses  on  his  Pennsylvania  farm.  Coming 
with  his  company  to  a  pit  in  the  road,  he  electrified  them  with 
the  order  to  '  Gee  around  that  hole.'  But  any  little  errors  of  this 
sort  were  quickly  corrected,  and  by  one  officer  particularly,  with 
the  order,  'as  you  were,  men,  my  mistake.'  We  are  now 
making  commendable  progress  in  battalion  movements,  and  ex 
pect  to  astonish  our  friends  at  home  when  we  return." 

A.  D.  Nickerson,  Eleventh  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  says,  in 
his  "  War  Experiences  :"  "It  is  not  within  the  province  of  a 
private  soldier — more  especially  a  'raw  recruit' — to  criticise  his 
superiors,  and  consequently  I  will  not  attempt  it,  notwithstanding 
this  is  the  'piping  time  of  peace,'  and  all  fear  of  the  guard-house 
has  forever  vanished.  I  will  say,  however,  that  all  of  the  officers 
named  had  their  peculiarities,  but  that  our  lieutenant-colonel  was 
peculiarly  peculiar  ;  and  yet  I  believe  him  to  have  been  every  inch  a 
soldier — at  any  rate,  there  was  no  such  word  as  fear  in  his  dictionary. 
He  was  in  command  when  the  regiment  came  the  nearest  to  being 
in  an  engagement,  and  I  fancy  I  see  him  now,  mounted  on  his 
horse  and  riding  at  the  head  of  the  column,  wearing  a  moth-eaten 
blouse  and  an  exceedingly  dilapidated  straw  hat,  with  a  very 
black  'T.  D.'  clay  pipe  stuck  in  his  mouth,  the  bowl  downwards. 
He  looked  more  like  the  'cowboy'  of  modern  times  than  the  pict 
ures  of  military  heroes  which  I  used  to  see  in  my  school-books 
when  I  was  a  boy.  This  was  our  lieutenant-colonel — John  Talbot 
Pitman.  He  had  good  '  staying  qualities.'  He  never  threw  up 
his  commission,  nor  did  he  die.  He  remained  with  us  to  the  last, 


I  IO  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

and  rose  considerably  in  the  estimation  of  the  men  after  his 
appearance  at  the  head  of  the  regiment  at  the  time  I  have  just 
mentioned.  Men  everywhere — especially  soldiers — admire  pluck. 
Our  lieutenant-colonel  had  pluck,  even  though  his  heart  seemed 
somewhat  lacking  in  tenderness.  He  never  winked  at  any  breach 
of  discipline  on  the  part  of  an  officer  or  a  private  while  he  was  in 
command  of  the  regiment.  If  at  times  he  appeared  to  have  too 
little  consideration  for  his  men,  he  never  failed  to  exact  the  fullest 
measure  of  consideration  for  them  from  all  others." 

"July  27th.  The  routine  of  camp-life  has  been  interrupted  by 
another  long  march.  The  forts  which  the  regiment  occupy  are 
all  new,  and  had  never  been  furnished  with  flags,  until  a  few 
days  ago,  when  one  was  sent  to  each  fort.  Suitable  flag-staffs 
having  been  erected  on  Friday  last,  the  staff  officers  with  the 
companies  at  headquarters  started  in  the  morning  fully  equipped 
with  twenty  rounds  of  blank  cartridges  for  the  fort  at  the  right  of 
the  line,  receiving  as  they  went  along  the  companies  at  the 
several  forts,  similarly  armed  and  equipped.  Upon  reaching  the 
most  distant  fort  (manned  by  Company  A,  Captain  McCloy). 
Their  flag  was  run  up  and  saluted  by  the  battalion  with  two 
volleys  of  musketry  and  three  cheers  for  the  flag.  Captain 
McCloy's  company  then  fell  into  line  with  us  and  the  march  was 
continued  to  the  other  extremity  of  the  line,  eight  or  ten  miles 
distant,  raising  and  saluting  the  flag  at  each  fort  in  passing  until 
headquarters,  Fort  Baker,  was  reached.  Here  there  were  two 
flags,  one  for  the  fort,  and  the  other  for  the  colonel's  quarters. 
These  were  saluted  with  three  volleys  of  musketry  and  twenty- 
one  guns  from  the  fort.  A  rest  was  then  taken  for  dinner,  after 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  I  I  I 

which  the  march  was  resumed  towards  the  forts  at  the  left,  the  flag 
of  each  of  which  was  raised  and  saluted  as  those  on  the  right  had 
been,  after  which  all  marched  back  to  their  quarters  again.  The 
whole  march  probably  exceeded  sixteen  miles,  and  as  the  day  was 
hot,  the  men  were  not  sorry  to  'call  it  a  day'  and  find  themselves 
back  again,  and  relieved  of  their  heavy  equipments.  The  view 
from  some  of  the  forts  was  magnificent,  that  from  Fort  Greble 
(Captain  McCloy),  being  particularly  fine.  Fort  Greble  is  located 
upon  the  heights  exactly  opposite  Alexandria,  and  commands  a  fine 
view  of  the  Potomac,  both  shores,  and  for  many  miles  each  way, 
including  camps  and  forts  innumerable,  with  the  cities  of  Wash 
ington,  Alexandria  and  Georgetown  in  full  view.  On  my  last 
visit  to  Washington  I  found  the  flags  displayed  at  half  mast,  and 
the  public  buildings  closed  and  draped  in  respect  to  the  memory 
of  Ex-President  Martin  Van  Buren." 

"Box  from  home.  One  of  the  best  things  in  the  box  you  so 
kindly  sent  us  was  the  cake.  There  is  no  danger  of  its  being 
slighted,  as  the  boys  always  want  to  enjoy  the  boxes  together. 
The  only  regret  I  feel  about  it  is  that  I  cannot  eat  my  cake  and 
still  have  it.  When  I  opened  the  package,  a  quarrel  immediately 
followed,  the  'corporal'  disputing  the  possession  of  the  cake  with 
me.  I  suspect  nothing  but  my  superior  rank  saved  it.  Finally 
the  matter  was  compromised  by  my  giving  him  a  good  piece  of  it, 
whereupon  he  left  me  in  peaceable  possession  of  the  remainder." 

Foraging.  One  of  the  men  wrote  home  to  his  mother  that  his 
bright  new  bayonet  had  been  stained  with  Southern  blood,  and 
the  old  lady  shuddered  at  the  awful  thought.  "  But,"  he  added, 
<(  it  wasn't  a  man  I  killed,  only  just  a  pig." 


I  12 


THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


Foraging. 


"  Our  team  has  just 
come  in,  loaded  with 
bed-sacks,  so  that  we 
must  buy  or  steal  (or 
else  in  camp  language, 
'forage'),  some  straw 
to  put  in  them  or  go 
without.  Some  of  the 
boys  have  recently  managed  to  '  find  '  some  new  potatoes,  cab 
bages,  cucumbers  and  other  good  things,  so  that  the  straw  will 
probably  soon  be  found.  We  are  also  enjoying  some  ripe  pears 
which  were  raised  out  of  our  garden. 

"  We  are  nearing  the  end  of  our  three  months'  service  in  the 
Ninth  regiment.  In  that  period  we  have  seen  quite  a  variety  of 
soldier  life,  although  we  have  made  but  few  movements.  We 
have  held  an  exposed  position  in  a  chain  of  forts  of  the  eastern 
defences  of  Washington,  but  have  encountered  no  raiding  Early 
or  Jackson,  so  that  the  results  achieved  are  not  conspicuous, 
but  we  have  stood  at  the  post  of  duty  assigned  us,  thus  relieving 
older  troops  for  more  active  service,  and  we  feel  that  without  our 
history  the  record  of  the  war  for  the  Union  would  be  incomplete. 
"  I  notice  that  the  Tenth  regiment  has  written  more  letters  to 
the  papers  than  our  regiment.  As  the  two  organizations  have 
not  met  since  we  parted  at  Cloud's  Mills,  Va.,  we  can  have  no 
idea  what  progress  they  may  have  made  in  the  art  of  war,  and 
doubtless  each  regiment  will  be  prepared  to  criticize  the  other 
pretty  sharply  when  we  meet  at  home.  As  they  are  composed 
of  city  companies,  and  rather  'aristocratic  '  withal,  it  will  per- 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 

haps  be  becoming  to  us  while  the  crowd 
is  admiring  them" 

The  duties  of  chaplain  were  satisfactorily 
performed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Root,  of  Lonsdale, 
R.  I.  As  postmaster  of  the  regiment,  also, 
and  in  various  other  ways,  he  found  daily 
opportunity  to  render  acceptable  and  ap 
preciated  services  to  the  men. 

Religious     services     were     maintained          chaplain  N.W.T.  Root. 
through  the  summer,  which  were  well  attended  by  officers  and 
men. 

The  bugle  sounded  the  call  for  public  worship,  and  the  men 
seated  themselves  upon  the  ground  or  stood  in  groups  to  hear 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  sing  the  old,  familiar  hymns. 
The  chaplain,  in  his  best  uniform,  stood  and  prayed  fervently  for 
the  Divine  guidance  and  protection,  while  the  men  listened  with 
heads  reverently  bowed.  After  the  sermon  the  chaplain  would 
give  out  some  familiar  hymn  in  our  red-covered  hymn  books. 

One  of  the  regiment  wrote  home,  "  Last  Sabbath  Chaplain  Root 
preached  a  very  practical  sermon  on  '  profanity.'  After  the  sermon, 
the  Warren  boys  agreed  among  their  several  messes,  that  when 
ever  one  of  them  uttered  a  profane  word  he  should  be  immediately 
compelled  to  go  and  fetch  a  pail  of  water  for  the  cook's  galley. 
As  the  distance  to  the  camp  is  about  half  a  mile,  it  will  be  readily 
seen  that  this  was  no  light  task  thus  voluntarily  imposed  upon 
themselves.  To  their  honor,  be  it  said,  that  they  fully  kept  their 
agreement  (so  far  as  heard  from),  and  I  commend  their  example 
as  worthy  of  imitation." 

15 


114  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 

"August  3d.  .We  have  lost  one  of  our  comrades  by  death.  He 
was  a  young  man  belonging  in  the  south  part  of  the  State,  a  mem 
ber  of  Company-K.  His  death  is  supposed  to  be  the  result  of 
injuries  received  from  a  fall  while  wrestling  at  Tennallytown.  His 
remains  have  been  sent  home  in  a  metallic  burial  case,  at  the 
expense  of  the  general  government.  I  was  frequently  at  the  hos 
pital  during  his  sickness,  and  should  say  that  he  received  every 
care  and  attention  possible.  Both  our  doctors,  Morton  and  King, 
spared  no  time  or  pains  to  relieve  him. 

"  During  the  three  months'  campaign  of  the  Ninth,  the  health  of 
the  regiment  was  generally  good,  and  but  three  deaths  occurred 
during  its  term  of  service  :  Hollis  Taber,  Jr.,  Company  C,  died 
Aug.  13,  1862,  in  hospital;  Sylvester  B.  Arnold,  Company  K, 
died  Aug.  2.  1862,  in  hospital  ;  Joseph  H.  Simonds,  Company  I, 
died  September,  1862,  in  Warren,  R.  I." 

August  24th.  The  following  order  was  received  by  the  regi 
ment  : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEFENCES  OF  WASHINGTON, 

General  Orders  No.  2.  WASHINGTON,  August  23.  1862. 

[Extract  i.] 

In  pursuance  of  orders  from  the  War  Department: 

ist.  All  regiments  of  three  months  volunteers  within  this  command,  will  be 
mustered  out  of  service  at  the  points  where  they  organized  respectively.  Thev 
will  be  placed  en  route  for  the  rendezvous  so  as  to  arrive  there  one  or  two  days 
before  the  expiration  of  their  time. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  BARNARD, 

(Signed)         J.   B.  SMITH, 
A.  A.  G. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  I  I  5 

The  regiment  in  accordance  with  the  above  order  broke  up  its 
camps  at  the  forts,  Monday  morning,  August  25th,  and  took  up  its 
line  of  march  for  Washington.  It  left  for  home  in  the  afternoon 
and  proceeded  by  rail  to  New  York,  with  the  customary  delays  at 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  At  New  York  the  regiment  was  de 
layed  a  day  and  a  half  for  transportation.  It  was  finally  conveyed 
to  Fall  River  by  steamer  Metropolis,  and  from  there  was  trans 
ferred  to  steamer  Bay  State,  and  arrived  at  Providence  on 
the  morning  of  the  29th.  Company  L,  Captain  Slocum,  was  left 
at  Newport.  After  disembarking  the  "  Ninth"  was  received  by 
the  "  Tenth  Regiment,"  and  escorted  to  Exchange  place,  and 
dismissed.  With  one  exception  the  companies  belonged  to 
other  towns,  and  left  the  city  in  the  earliest  trains  for  their  re 
spective  homes.  Companies  A  and  H,  of  Pawtucket,  were  hand 
somely  received  there,  and  a  bountiful  collation  provided.  A  similar 
reception  was  given  to  Company  I,  in  Warren,  and  a  speech  of 
welcome  made  by  Asa  M.  Gammell,  Esq.  A  few  days  after,  the 
regiment  assembled  in  Providence,  was  paid  off,  and  mustered  out. 

The  history  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  is  necessarily  brief  and 
uneventful.  It  is  not  identified  with  brilliant  deeds,  such  as 
attract  the  gaze  and  call  forth  expressions  of  wonder  or  admira 
tion.  It  cannot  point  to  hard  fought  battles,  and  exhibit  a  long 
list  of  casualties  as  evidence  of  its  prowess.  But  if  destitute 
of  these  features, » impartial  history  will  nevertheless  give  it  a 
deserved  recognition  as  a  reserved  power.  Important  but  not 
dazzling  duties  were  assigned  it,  and  these  duties  were  quietly 
and  faithfully  performed.  In  every  respect  it  was  a  credit  to  the 
State,  and  worthy  of  being  held  in  honorable  remembrance. 


Il6  THE    NINTH    REGIMENT 


THE   SOLDIER'S   RETURN. 


TUNE — Ma  rch  ing-  A  lo  ng. 


BY    CAPT.   JOHN    MCKINLEY,    CO.    D,    C/TH    R.    I.    VOLS. 


far  distant  fort  and  from  white  tented  plain, 
I  low  gladly  we  come  to  our  old  homes  again  : 
Though  stained  not  as  heroes  in  battle's  red  gore, 
We've  all  done  our  duty,  and  none  can  do  more. 

To  father  and  mother  what  joy  it  imparts 
To  meet  the  loved  son  they  have  mourned  in  their  hearts 
Where  sad  looks  have  lingered,  a  smile  seems  to  reign, 
And  friends,  weary  sighing,  are  cheerful  again. 

The  lone-hearted  maiden  and  fond  loving  wife, 

That  longed  for  their  loved  one's  return  from  the  strife, 

With  sister  and  brother  have  happy  become, 

To  see  the  brave  soldier  return  to  his  home. 

Though  weary  with  wandering,  'tis  pleasure  sincere, 
Dear  friends,  kind  neighbors,  and  kindred,  to  hear, 
In  sweet  tones  of  welcome,  your  voices  arise, 
As  you  meet  us  and  greet  us  with  love's  beaming  eyes. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 

Farewell  for  a  while,  now,  the  fort  and  the  field, 
We  return  to  the  comforts  our  firesides  can  yield, 
And  gladly  forget  our  brief,  weary  sojourn 
Where  friends  meet  to  welcome  the  soldier's  return. 

May  God  speed  the  time  when  the  battle's  loud  roar 
Shall  no  longer  be  heard  on  Columbia's  shore; 
When  "  peace  and  good  will  "  all  our  people  shall  learn 
And  no  longer  prevent  the  soldier's  return. 

Chorus : 

Homeward  we  come,  proudly  homeward  we  come, 
And  sweet  is  the  welcome  of  kind  friends  at  home. 
How  warmly  love's  feeling  in  each  heart  will  burn 
When  friends  fondly  welcome  the  soldier's  return. 


NINTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS. 


FIELD    AND    STAFF. 


Colonel — JOHN  T.  PITMAN. 

Lieutenant-Colonels — JOHN  T.  PITMAN,  JOHN  HARE  PO'WEL. 

Majors — JOHN  T.  PITMAN,  JOHN  HARE  POWEL,  GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE. 

Surgeon — LLOYD  MORTON. 

Assistant-Surgeon — HENRY  KING. 

Chaplain—  N.  W.  TAYLOR  ROOT. 

Adjutant — HENRY  C.  BROWN. 

Quartermasters — GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE,  WILLIAM  McC READY,  JR. 

Sergeant-Major — ROBERT  FESSENDEN. 

Quartermaster-Sergeant — ALFRED  O.   TILDEN. 

Hospital  Steward — HENRY  E.  TYLER. 

Commissary-Sergeant — HORACE  G.   MILLER. 


COMPANY    OFFICERS. 


COMPANY  A. 

Capt.  ROBERT  McCLov,  ist  Lt.  ALBERT  W.  TOMPKINS, 

2cl  Lt.  HENRY  C.  BROWN. 

COMPANY  B. 

Capt.  HENRY  C.  CARD,  ist  Lt.  J.  CLARKE  BARBER, 

2d  Lt.  JAMES  MCDONALD. 


NINTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS.  I  19 

COMPANY   C. 
Capt.  JOHN  A.  BOWEN,  ist  Lt.  GEORGE  A.  SPINK, 

2d  Lt.  WILLIAM  H.  POTTER. 

COMPANY  D. 
Capt.  JOHN  MCKINLEY,  ist  Lt.  JOHN  POLLARD, 

2d  Lt.  WILLIAM  MCCREADY,  JR. 

COMPANY  E. 
Capt.  ISAAC  PLACE,  ist  Lt.  PHILIP  D.  HALL, 

2cl  Lt.  NATHAN  BENTON. 

COMPANY  F. 
Capt.  JOHN  M.  TAYLOR,  ist  Lt.  RANDALL  HOLDEN, 

2d  Lt.  RICHARD  W.  HOWARD. 

COMPANY  G. 

Capt.  CHARLES  S.  WATSON,  ist  Lt.  FRANCELLO  G.  JILLSON, 

2d  Lt.  HENRY  J.  WHITAKER. 

COMPANY  H. 
Capt.  HENRY  F.  JENKS,  ist  Lt.  FRANK  ALLEN, 

2d  Lt.  GEORGE  A.  BUCKLIN. 

COMPANY  I. 
Capt.  SAMUEL  PEARCE, 

ist  Lt.  GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE,  2d  Lt.  WILLIAM  H.  SURGENS, 

ist  Lt.  WILLIAM  H.  SURGENS,  2d  Lt.  HORACE  G.  BARRUS. 

COMPANY  K. 

Capt.  JAMES  R.  HOLDEN,  ist  Lt.  WILLIAM  H.  GARDNER, 

2d  Lt.  GEORGE  H.  BURNHAM! 

COMPANY  L. 

Capt.  JOHN  HARE  POWEL,  ist  Lt.  WILLIAM  R.  LANDERS, 

Capt.  BENJAMIN  L.  SLOCUM,  2d  Lt.  WILLIAM  H.  KING. 


George    B.   McClellan, 

and    other 

Union     Generals 

in   Virginia, 

1862. 


THE  TENTH  REGIMENT 

R.    I.   VOLUNTEERS. 


Tho  White  Hous 


THE  Tenth  Regiment 
Rhode  Island  Vol 
unteers  was  princi 
pally  recruited  from  an 
organization  of  the  citizens 
of  Providence,  banded  to 
gether  for  State  defence, 
and  known  as  the  First 
Regiment  Rhode  Island 
National  Guards.  On  the  23d  of  May,  1862,  the  following  spe 
cial  order  was  issued  from  the  Adjutant  General's  office  of  the 
State,  viz.  : 

Commandants  of  the  several  military  companies  of  the  State,  will  imme 
diately  assemble  their  respective  commands,  at  their  usual  place  of  rendezvous, 
and  report  one  company,  minimum  standard  from  each  organization,  to  the 
office  of  the  Adjutant-General,  for  three  months'  service  in  Washington. 

Signed,  E.   C.  MAURAN, 

Adjutant-  General. 

A  meeting  of  the  officers  of  the  several  companies  comprising 
the  "First  Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guards,"  was  imme 
diately  held,  and  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  : 

16 


122  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

RESOLVED,  That  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  is  hereby  requested  to  offer  to  His 
Excellency  the  Governor,  the  services  of  the  organization  known  as  the  '  First 
Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guards,'  as  now  officered  and  organized,  in 
response  to  the  call  for  service  made  by  him  as  above. 

Signed,  ELISHA    DYER, 

Commanding  Co.  B,  being  Fourth   Ward  Drill  Corps, 

Chairman. 

A  reply  was  promptly  received  from  the  Governor,  accepting 
the  services  of  the  regiment  according  to  the  terms  of  the  reso 
lution. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  25th,"  says  Colonel  Shaw  (in  his  official 
report  to  Governor  Sprague  the  following  October),  "the  despatch 
announcing  the  defeat  of  General  Banks  was  received,  and  at  one 
o'clock  on  the  26th,  I  received  from  you  an  order  to  immediately 
organize  the  National  Guards.  I  at  once  ordered  the  several 
companies  to  meet  at  their  respective  armories  at  9  o'clock,  A.  M., 
and  at  seven  p.  M.,  of  the  same  day,  had  the  honor  to  report  to 
you  six  hundred  and  thirteen  men  ready  for  duty.  As  I  had  seen 
no  service  in  the  field,  and  there  was  a  prospect  of  immediate 
active  service,  I  preferred  to  waive  the  right  to  command  the  regi 
ment,  according  to  the  terms  on  which  you  had  accepted  it,  and 
requested  your  Excellency  to  appoint  some  one  who  had  received 
a  military  education  as  its  commander.  I  was  further  directed  by 
you  to  send  in  a  list  of  company  officers,  and  was  informed  that 
the  quartermaster  would  be  at  my  service  at  daylight  the  fol 
lowing  morning. 

"At  2.15  p.  M.,  the  next  day,  by  my  order,  the  regiment  was 
paraded  on  Exchange  place,  armed,  clothed  and  equipped, — in  less 
than  thirty  hours  from  the  time  it  was  first  ordered  to  meet." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


12 


General  Orders  No.  29,  Adjutant-Gen 
eral's  Office,  Providence,  May  26,  1862, 
announced  that  the  National  Guards  of 
Providence  will  be  organized  as  the  Tenth 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers :  Capt.  Zenas 
R.  Bliss,  United  States  Army,  Colonel ; 
James  Shaw,  Jr.,  Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Colonel  Bliss  being  obliged  to  remain 
at  home  for  a  day  or  two,  on  account  of 
his  father's  death,  the  following  order  was  issued 


Special  Orders, 
No.  29. 


STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  ETC., 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 
PROVIDENCE,  May  26.  1862. 


Lieutenant- Colonel  Shaw  is  hereby  ordered  to  have  the  baggage  belonging  to 
his  regiment  at  the  Stonington  Railroad  Freight  Depot,  at  n  A.  M.,  on  Tues 
day,  the  2yth  instant. 

You  will  also  order  your  companies  to  report  punctually  at  the  Stonington 
Depot,  at  3  o'clock,  p.  M.,  same  dale. 

Bv  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief, 

AUG.  IIOPPIN, 
Assistant  Adjutant- General. 

"  We  left  Providence,"  wrote  a  member  of  the  regiment, 
"  Tuesday  afternoon,  and  were  received  everywhere  on  the  route 
with  great  enthusiasm."  The  impression  seemed  to  prevail  that 
Washington  was  safe  now  that  the  "Tenth  "  was  on  its  way.  Cer 
tainly  no  regiment  ever  left  the  State  more  promptly  in  response 
to  the  Governor's  call,  and  no  regiment  hastened  to  the  rescue 
of  the  capital  under  a  more  solemn  sense  of  duty. 


124  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Some  of  the  best  citizens  of  Providence 
were  members  of  this  regiment  from  al 
most  every  rank  and  profession.  There 
was  the  merchant,  the  lawyer  and  the 
banker ;  the  mechanic  and  tradesman, 
with  the  clerk  from  behind  his  counter. 
There  were  the  students,  from  the  college 
and  high  school,  led  by  that  grand  man, 
Lieut.-coi. james  shaw, jr.  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer,  formerly  governor  of 
the  State,  whose  former  position  gave  increased  value  to  the  ser 
vice  now  rendered.  It  was  the  general  desire  and  expectation 
that  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  should  be  the  colonel  of  the  regiment, 
but  he  chose  to  be  content  with  deserving  the  position,  and  de 
clining  the  honor  in  favor  of  a  worthy  officer  who  had  seen  service. 
"The  regiment  assembled  on  Exchange  place,"  wrote  Lieut. 
Charles  F.  Phillips,  of  Company  B,  "on  Tuesday  afternoon,  May 
27th,  at  three  o'clock,  and  about  five  o'clock  it  filed  into  the  cars. 
During  the  interim,  while  standing  in  line,  we  were  all  pretty 
well  drenched  by  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  besides  being  bent  well 
nigh  double  by  the  unaccustomed  weight  of  our  equipments. 
Some  one  pointed  out  a  stranger,  of  fine  soldierly  physique,  and 
face  well  bronzed  by  service  with  the  regulars  in  Texas,  as  our 
future  colonel,  and  an  efficient  commander  he  afterwards  proved, 
but  as  we  were  then  in  blissful  ignorance  of  his  merits,  we  were 
hardly  disposed  to  look  upon  him  with  favor  at  first."  Colonel 
Bliss  was  detained  at  home  on  account  of  his  father's  death,  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw  assumed  command  of  the  regiment,  and 
directed  its  movement  to  Washington. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  125 

The  commander  of  Company  A,  was 
Capt.  William  E.  Taber,  a  young  and 
efficient  officer,  who  had  seen  service  with 
the  First  Rhode  Island  Regiment.  At  the 
head  of  Company  B,  marched  Capt.  Elisha 
Dyer,  one  of  the  war  governors  of  Rhode 
Island.  The  men  are  few  who  at  his  age  X^»^VTY  .It 
and  with  his  responsibilities,  would  have 
surrendered  the  comforts  of  home  for  the  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer. 

arduous  duties  of  the  camp.  Within  eight  hours  time  from  the 
opening  of  the  armory,  he  paraded  his  company  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men  up  Broadway  and  down  Westminster  street.  The 
other  captains  were :  Jeremiah  Vose,  Company  C  ;  William  S. 
Smith,  Company  D  ;  Hopkins  B.  Cady,  Company  E  ;  Benjamin 
W.  Harris,  Company  F ;  A.  Crawford  Greene,  Company  G ; 
Christopher  Duckworth,  Company  H  ;  William  M.  Hale,  Company 
I ;  G.  Frank  Low,  Company  K  (Second  Lieutenant  First  Regiment). 
Most  of  the  officers  of  the  " Tenth"  were  citizens  of  Providence, 
well  known  to  the  men,  and  good  order  and  discipline  prevailed. 

Resuming,  Lieutenant  Phillips  wrote  :  "As  soon  as  the  regi 
ment  had  passed  into  the  cars,  guards  were  stationed  with 
strict  orders  to  allow  no  one  to  enter  or  leave  the  train.  Soon  a 
stout,  well  built  man,  with  eyes  and  hair  as  black  as  the  raven, 
and  a  countenance  indicating  a  generous  disposition,  attempted 
to  enter  one  of  the  cars.  The  guard  disputed  his  entrance  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  'I  am  the  Governor's  aide,'  he  said  with 
considerable  vigor.  'And  my  orders  are  imperative,'  as  firmly 
insisted  the  guard.  Here  was  a  quandary,  Captain  Dyer's  sergeant 


126  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

was  attending  to  business  closely,  but  after  further  parleying, 
the  necessary  order  came,  and  Col.  Byron  Sprague  of  his  excel 
lency's  staff  was  allowed  to  pass  in.  A  few  moments  later  the 
final  commands  were  given,  the  conductor  gave  the  signal  for  de 
parture,  and  the  long  train  moved  out  of  the  depot  amid  loud 
cheering  by  the  assembled  crowd  and  a  general  waving  of  hats 
and  handkerchiefs." 

To  such  a  regiment  might  be  fitly  applied  the  words  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  when,  in  a  message  to  Congress,  he  said:  "  There 
are  regiments  in  the  national  service  which  could  fill  with  dignity 
and  honor,  every  important  place  in  the  central  administration  of 
the  national  government." 

Lieut.  Winthrop  DeWolf,  of  Company  D,  wrote:  "The  first 
realizing  sense  of  the  rough  work  we  had  undertaken,  I  think, 
came  over  us  at  Groton,  when  for  the  first  time  we  underwent 
'rations.'  At  the  gangway  leading  to  the  boat  stood  the  com 
missary  and  his  assistants  with  a  barrel  before  them.  Our  unsus 
pecting  recruits  marched  up  in  single  file  with  open  haversacks, 
when  instead  of  the  neat  package  of  sandwiches  and  sponge  cake 
which  most  of  them  expected  to  be  deposited  therein,  the  afore 
said  assistant  disappeared  for  an  instant,  head  and  shoulders  into 
the  barrel,  then  rising  suddenly  crammed  into  the  opening  a 
greasy  mass,  which  might  be  meat  or  bone,  as  it  happened.  The 
old  soldiers  (First  Regiment  men  are  old  soldiers  now),  looked 
doubtfully  at  it  from  the  corners  of  their  eyes,  the  younger  mem 
bers  received  it  with  enthusiasm,  as  the  first  trial  of  patriotism, 
and  retained  it  till  far  out  in  the  Sound,  when  a  certain  unsteady 
motion  taking  possession  of  the  steamer,  they  might  be  observed 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


127 


stealing  to  the  guards  and  quietly  dropping  it  overboard.  The 
floor  of  the  saloon  was  now  assigned  the  men  for  sleeping  quarters. 
From  New  York  we  took  the  Amboy  boat,  and  arrived  at  Phila 
delphia  about  five  P.  M.,  of  Wednesday.  A  capital  supper  was 
awaiting  us  at  the  rooms  of  the  Cooper  Volunteer  Relief  Asso- 


Cooper   Volunteer    Refreshment    Building. 

cjation,  and,  not  to  be  forgotten,  plenty  of  water  and  towels. 
This  association  has  fed  since  the  war  commenced  more  than 
200,000  hungry,  way-worn  men.  Overhead  are  the  hospital  rooms. 
Two  of  our  men  being  sick  were  taken  thither,  and  treated  with 
every  possible  attention.  If  blessings  were  shingles,  these  asso 
ciation  rooms  would  be  new  roofed  every  week ;  yet  I  am  told  its 
charities  are  supported  by  the  poor,  and  not  the  rich  of  that  great 


128  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

city  ;  that  the  subscriptions  to  it  are  mostly  of  one  and  two  dol 
lars  ;  that  market-women  and  small  store-keepers  and  country 
men  strain  to  the  utmost  their  scant  resources  to  spread  that 
hospitable  table." 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  lay  in  the  channel  of  the  great  stream 
of  Union  volunteers  from  New  England,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  that  commenced  flowing  abundantly  early  in  May,  1861. 
These  soldiers  crossing  New  Jersey  and  the  Delaware  river  at 
Camden,  were  landed  at  the  foot  of  Washington  avenue,  where 
wearied  and  hungry,  they  often  vainly  sought  for  sufficient  refresh 
ments  in  the  bakeries  and  groceries  in  the  neighborhood  before 
entering  the  cars  for  Baltimore.  One  morning  the  wife  of  a 
mechanic  living  near,  commiserating  the  situation  of  some  sol 
diers  who  had  just  arrived,  went  out  with  her  coffee  pot  and  a 
cup,  and  distributed  its  contents  among  them.  That  generous 
hint  was  the  germ  of  a  wonderful  system  of  relief  for  the  passing 
soldiers  which  was  immediately  developed  in  that  city.  Some 
benevolent  women  of  the  vicinity,  imitating  their  patriotic  sister, 
formed  themselves  into  a  committee  for  the  regular  distribution  of 
coffee  to  the  soldiers  on  their  arrival.  Gentlemen  of  the  nei^h- 

o 

borhood  also  interested  themselves  in  procuring  other  supplies, 
and,  for  a  few  days,  they  were  dispensed  under  the  shade  of  trees, 
in  front  of  the  cooper  shop  of  William  M.  Cooper,  on  Otsego  street 
near  Washington  avenue.  Then  the  shop  itself,  generously  offered 
for  the  purpose  by  Mr.  Cooper,  was  used  for  the  refreshment  of 
the  soldiers,  and  very  soon  whole  regiments  were  fed  there,  at 
tables  supplied  by  the  contributions  of  the  citizens  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  were  waited  on  by  their  wives  and  daughters.  The  first 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  I  29 

regiment  supplied  was  Colonel  Blanker' s  (German)  Rifles,  more 
than  a  thousand  strong,  who  breakfasted  there  on  the  27th  of 
May,  1 86 1.  A  hospital  was  also  established  for  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers.  The  "  Cooper  Shop"  not  proving  spacious  enough,  other 
places  of  refreshment  were  afterwards  opened.  This  benevolent 
work  was  continued  all  through  the  period  of  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  ;  and  to  the  immortal  honor  of  Mr.  Cooper  and  the  citi 
zens  of  Philadelphia,  it  must  be  recorded  that  they  liberally  sup 
plied  these  saloons  with  ample  materials  to  give  a  bountiful  meal 
during  the  four  years  of  war  to  almost  1,200,000  Union  soldiers. 
Over  600,000  were  fed  at  the  "  Cooper  Shop"  at  an  expense  of  ten 
to  fifteen  cents  per  meal.  It  caused  the  loss  of  Mr.  Cooper's  busi 
ness,  and  reduced  the  family  to  severe  straits.  To  the  women 
especially,  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  preparing  the 
meals,  and  waiting  upon  this  vast  host  of  the  defenders  of  the 
Union,  belong  the  choicest  blessings  of  their  country.  At  all- 
hours  of  the  day  and  night,  these  self-sacrificing  heroines — to 
whom  a  little  signal  gun,  employed  for  the  purpose,  announced  the 
approach  of  a  regiment  or  a  company  of  troops, — would  repair  to 
the  saloon,  and  with  the  greatest  cheerfulness  dispense  the  gene 
rous  bounty  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia.  This  noble  work 
continued  till  August,  1865,  when  peace  had  been  restored,  and 
the  flag  of  the  republic  was  waving  unmolested  over  every  acre 
of  its  domain.  Without  disparagement  to  other  cities  (for  all  did 
noble  work),  it  may  with  propriety  be  said,  that  in  labors  of 
genuine  benevolence  and  generous  giving  for  the  comfort  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  great  Union  army,  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia 
stand  peerless. 

17 


130  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Resuming,  Lieutenant  DeVVolf  wrote  :  "  The  night's  ride  to 
Baltimore  was  ludicrously  uncomfortable,  but  with  the  sunrise  we 
left  the  cars  and  marched  through  the  debatable  land  unmolested. 
Cartridges  had  been  previously  served  to  one  or  two  companies, 
but  no  disloyal  word  or  act  gave  excuse  for  their  employment. 
The  southern  sympathizers  had  disappeared  from  the  streets  and 
the  'stars  and  stripes '  were  flying  from  the  public  buildings.  All 
the  forenoon  we  lazed  about  the  railroad  station,  while  some 
officers  were  dispatched  to  Washington  to  report  our  arrival. 

"They  received  at  first  the  startling  order  to  join  the  advance 
near  Richmond  at  once,  but  when  the  locating  officer  came  to 
understand  that  we  were  'emergency'  men,  ordered  to  the  de 
fence  of  Washington,  we  were  permitted  to  pursue  our  journey  to 
.the  capital.  To  this  end  we  were  furnished  with  a  few  passenger 
cars  and  fourteen  or  fifteen  freight  and  cattle  cars,  into  which  we 
tumbled  after  the  manner  of  our  cloven  footed  predecessors, 
whose  aroma,  bovine,  porcine  and  equine,  yet  lingered  lovingly 
about  the  spot.  The  sun  was  intensely  hot,  with  no  wind.  In 
our  car  some  air  was  obtained  by  bringing  a  pair  of  '  whangs  ' 
(army  shoes,  a  trifle  broader  than  they  are  long),  to  bear  upon  the 
boards  at  either  ends,  but  the  next  car  to  us  being  completely 
iron-clad,  roof  and  sides,  reduced  its  inmates  to  a  semi-fluid  state. 
One  man  declared  that  the  water  '  sizzled '  in  his  canteen,  while 
the  eggs  bought  in  Baltimore  were  found  to  be  handsomely  baked 
upon  his  arrival  at  Washington. 

"  But  at  length  we  did  arrive.  Before  us  stood  invitingly  a 
row  of  wooden  barracks,  seemingly  filled  already  to  their  utmost 
capacity  with  soldiers.  Into  these  we  filed  and  deposited  our  ac- 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  13! 

coutrements.  The  floor  that  night  presented  a  curious  appear 
ance.  A  conglomerate  pavement  of  sleeping  men,  reclining 
every  way,  dovetailed,  criss-crossed,  head  and  heels,  pillowed  on 
knapsacks  and  cartridge  boxes,  heaving  with  the  restless  tides  of 
slumber,  from  which  arose  the  gleaming  stacks  of  muskets, 
festooned  with  haversacks  and  canteens.  So  completely  was  the 
floor  covered  that  the  unfortunate  guard,  quonun  parva  pars  fni, 
coming  heavy-eyed  from  their  posts,  sought  in  vain  for  a  vacant 
spot,  and  were  finally  compelled  to  spread  their  blankets  upon 
the  ground  outside.  A  little  after  midnight,  a  man  sprang  to  his 
feet  in  a  distant  corner  of  the  room  shouting,  '  The  enemy  are 
upon  us  !  Seize  your  arms,  boys  ! ' 

"  Instantly  five  hundred  men  awoke  and  commenced  scrambling 
for  their  arms  and  equipments.  A  scene  of  more  perfect  confu 
sion  can  hardly  be  imagined. 

"One  dim  lantern  shed  an  uncertain  light  over  the  room. 
Now  and  then  a  stack  of  muskets  came  down  with  a  crash  to 
help  matters.  Few  were  wide  awake  enough  to  reason  about  the 
grounds  of  the  alarm,  and  the  officers'  shouts  went  for  nothing  in 
the  hurley-hurley.  When  quiet  had  been  a  little  restored,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  man  who  started  the  alarm  had  been  suffering 
from  nightmare.  He  could  not  be  persuaded  in  the  morning  of 
the  excitement  he  had  created." 

A  few  years  later  the  author  found  himself  uncomfortably  locked 
up  in  a  stateroom  with  a  Baltimore  man  who  had  a  similar  attack 
on  board  a  steamer  on  Lake  Champlain  :  "  I  was  on  my  way  home 
from  Montreal  and  arrived  late  one  evening  at  Burlington,  Vt., 
where  I  took  the  night  boat  for  Whitehall.  It  was  crowded  with 


132  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

passengers,  and  every  stateroom  was  engaged.  As  I  sat  watch 
ing  the  crowd  and  looking  about  for  a  convenient  camping  spot  on 
the  floor,  I  recalled  the  night  in  1862  when  the  'Tenth  Rhode 
Island  boys  '  crowded  the  decks  of  the  steamer  Plymouth  Rock> 
on  the  way  to  the  capital.  Then,  as  now,  the  staterooms  were  all 
taken,  but  we  cheerfully  camped  down  '  on  deck '  with  our  knap 
sacks  for  pillows,  and  after  receiving  our  first  rations,  we  dropped 
off  to  sleep,  dreaming  of  the  comforts  of  home  and  of  the  thin  as 
surances  made  us,  when  we  put  our  names  down,  that  nothing  but 
the  best  was  good  enough  for  us,  and  that  the  best  government 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth  would  take  care  that  we  were  supplied 
with  every  good  thing. 

"  While  musing  thus,  a  mild-appearing  individual  approached 
me  and  said,  '  I'm  sorry  that  you  are  unable  to  obtain  a  state 
room.  I  am  traveling  alone  to  my  home  in  Baltimore,  and  you 
are  welcome  to  the  upper  berth  of  my  room  if  you'll  accept  it.' 

"  If  I  had  been  on  my  way  home  with  the  boys  of  the  'Tenth  ' 
at  the  end  of  our  campaign,  I  might  have  replied,  thank  you,  my 
friend,  but  we've  got  used  to  it,  and  prefer  to  sleep  on  the  floor, 
but  reflecting  that  I  was  several  years  older  than  I  was  then,  and 
much  heavier  than  when  I  was  much  lighter,  I  gladly  accepted 
the  kind  offer  of  a  soft  bed  from  the  Baltimore  gentleman,  and 
retired  early,  the  suggestion  occurring  to  me,  at  the  last  moment, 
as  I  was  composing  myself  to  rest,  that  perhaps  it  was  a  trifle 
risky  being  locked  up  for  the  night  in  a  small  stateroom  with  an 
entire  stranger. 

"  Soon  all  was  quiet  on  the  steamer.  The  lights  burned  low  in 
the  saloon,  and  all  were  apparently  asleep,  when  suddenly,  about 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  133 

the  hour  of  midnight,  I  was  aroused  from  my  slumbers  by  a 
terrific  yell  from  the  Baltimore  gentleman  in  the  lower  berth. 
A  moment  later  he  was  on  his  feet,  shouting  '  Murder !  thieves ! 
robbers ! '  and  tearing  about  like  a  madman."  Mrs.  Partington 
said :  "  Some  people  are  more  courageous  than  others,  and  some 
ain't !  But  for  my  part,"  she  added,  "  I  think  it  requires  a  good 
deal  of  courage  to  wake  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and  find  a 
strange  man  standing  horizontally  by  your  bedside  !  "  "As  soon  as 
I  could  speak  I  called  out,  what's  the  matter  with  you  ?  but  received 
no  soothing  reply,  and  the  startling  conviction  forced  itself  upon 
me  that  I  was  locked  up  with  a  lunatic.  Suddenly,  in  his  frenzy, 
the  Baltimore  man  turned  and  started  for  the  stateroom  window. 
Here  was  my  opportunity.  With  a  bound  I  leaped  from  the 
upper  berth  to  the  floor,  unlocked  the  door  and  rushed  out  into 
the  saloon  with  the  Baltimore  man  in  hot  pursuit.  A  crowd  had 
already  gathered,  and  he  was  quickly  secured.  Anxious  faces, 
some  in  night-caps,  might  be  seen  peering  out  of  their  stateroom 
doors.  Meanwhile  the  cause  of  the  alarm  attempted  to  explain 
that  it  was  only  one  of  his  periodical  spells  of  nightmare,  although 
he  guessed  it  must  have  been  an  unusually  bad  spell ;  no  one 
need  be  alarmed  on  his  account,  as  he  was  entirely  harmless  at 
such  times.  With  this  assurance  quiet  was  at  length  restored." 
Thursday  night,  May  29th,  the  Tenth  Regiment  slept  in 
the  barracks  in  Washington.  "  Early  the  next  morning," 
wrote  James  F.  Field,  of  Company  B,  "we  packed  our  knap 
sacks,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  started  on  the  march,  halting  for 
some  time  at  the  Capitol  for  orders.  The  day  was  excessively 
warm,  and  as  we  moved  on,  the  dust  was  so  thick  that  we  could 


134  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

scarcely  see  the  left  of  the  line  from  our  position  on  the  right. 
I  was  much  disappointed  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  city, 
as  we  saw  it  from  Pennsylvania  avenue,  the  main  thoroughfare. 
The  public  buildings  were  all  on  a  grand  scale,  such  as  the 
Capitol,  White  House,  Patent  Office  (where  the  First  Rhode 
Island  Regiment  was  stationed  a  year  ago),  the  Post-Office  Build 
ing,  and  the  Postmaster-General's  residence,  but  the  private  resi 
dences  were  not  so  attractive.  When  we  reached  the  White 
House,  we  loaded  our  knapsacks,  at  the  suggestion  of  Governor 
Sprague,  into  the  baggage  wagons  of  the  Sixty-third  Indiana 
Regiment,  which  were  following  us,  which  proved  a  great  relief. 
We  were  further  allowed  to  carry  'arms  at  will'  and  take  our 
own  'step.'  Thus  we  marched  on,  through  Georgetown  and 
beyond,  six  miles  or  more,  till  we  came  to  the  village  of  Tennally- 
town  near  our  present  camp." 

"After  the  hot,  two  hours'  march,"  resumed  Lieutenant  Phillips, 
"the  regiment  halted,  the  right  resting  near  the  village  hotel. 
Suddenly  the  black  clouds  which  had  been  gathering,  were  rent 
with  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  and  poured  down  their  fierce  vials 
of  wrath  upon  us,  the  invaders  of  '  Maryland,  my  Maryland,'  till 
we  were  soaked  through  and  through.  The  officers  had  gone 
into  the  hotel  to  pay  their  respects  to  Gen.  Samuel  P.  Sturgis, 
to  whose  brigade  we  had  been  assigned. 

"The  rain  poured;  some  of  the  men  broke  ranks,  and  tried 
shelter  under  the  veranda.  General  Robbins  stalked  across 
the  street  with  measured  dignity,  and,  whilst  the  rain  formed 
rivulets  down  his  back  exclaimed  :  *  For  God's  sake,  sergeant, 
keep  the  men  in  line,  this  is  General  Sturgis's  headquarters  ! ' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


135 


The  men  had  great  respect 
for  General  Sturgis,  know 
ing  that  he  was  a  regular, 
the  second  in  command  to 
General  Lyon,  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  and  with  his  raw 
troops  from  Kansas  had 
fought  with  great  valor. 
Not  a  man  was  hazardous 
.enough  to  leave  the  line 
after  this.  Corbin,  on  the 
extreme  right,  one  of  the 
tall  men,  slim  and  straight, 
and  too  thin  it  was  de 
clared  for  even  a  shadow, 
as  well  as  others  of  '  old 
Brown, 'amused themselves  A  Wet  Dav  in  Camp- 

by  emptying  the  water  out  of  their  shoes.  In  the  meantime 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw  had  seized  a  building  at  the  junction 
of  the  roads,  in  spite  of  protests  and  threats,  and  prepared  a 
hasty  cup  of  coffee  for  the  command.  Upon  the  orders  of  Gen 
eral  Robbins,  Company  B  was  ordered  to  pass  in  single  file  by 
the  open  windows,  receive  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  go  into  the  woods 
upon  the  left  and  unload  the  wagons.  It  was  a  heavy  task,  but 
soon  accomplished.  The  camp  fixings,  including  the  knapsacks, 
were  sorted  and  distributed  to  company  quarters.  As  there  was 
neither  saw,  hammer,  or  chisel,  we  had  to  break  open  the  cases 
with  uplifted  boulders,  and  with  jackknives  only  we  whittled, 


136  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT. 

fitted  and  wedged  the  handles  of  the  picks  in  their  places.  As 
the  darkness  settled  down,  the  conical  peaks  of  the  Sibley  tents 
popped  up  like  mushrooms,  and  considering  that  very  few  of  the 
men  had  ever  helped  pitch  a  tent  or  ever  stood  under  one,  the 
work  was  marvellous.  A  member  of  Company  B  was  commanded 
to  take  a  detail  and  pitch  the  general's  headquarters  near  the 
burying  ground  fence.  This  was  a  wall  tent,  soaked  with  water, 
and  nearly  as  large  as  the  meeting-house  near  by.  The  soil  com 
posed  of  gravel  and  boulders,  was  almost  impenetrable  to  the  pick, 
but  the  work  was  accomplished,  dark  as  it  was,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all  concerned.  Upon  returning  to  quarters,  we  were  unable  to 
find  knapsack,  blanket  or  haversack.  Every  inch  of  the  tent 
was  occupied  by  men  drenched  to  the  skin  ;  some  were  counting 
the  blisters  upon  their  hands,  and  others  trying  to  improvise  a 
cup  of  coffee.  Poor  McGlaulin  was  doing  his  best  to  build  a  fire 
from  the  green  wood  chopped  after  we  came  into  camp.  The 
sergeant  sought  refuge  in  the  windowless  church,  and  slept  upon 
the  wet  floor  without  pillow  or  blanket.  At  length,  the  morning 
dawned,  and  the  sun,  as  if  to  welcome  us,  touched  up  the  walls  of 
our  canvas  city  with  golden  hues,  while  the  birds,  never  happier, 
warbled  their  morning  songs  from  the  tree-tops  above  us.  Some 
of  the  first  orders  were  to  open  the  quartermaster's  stores  and 
mount  guard.  The  camp  was  further  laid  out  by  measure,  and 
rightly  named  Camp  Frieze,  in  honor  of  the  Quartermaster-Gen 
eral  of  Rhode  Island.  It  occupies  the  northwesterly  slope  of  the 
hill,  on  which  the  village  of  Tennallytown  clings  with  feeble 
grasp.  The  regular  routine  of  military  drill  now  began,  and  was 
strictly  enforced  from  that  day." 


138  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS,  COLLEGE  VILLA, 
General  Orders,  Xo.  /.  TEXXALLYTOWX,  D.  C.,  May  31,  1862. 

ist.  The  commanding  officers  of  each  regiment,  battery,  battalion  or  detach 
ment  assigned  to  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Sturgis,  will  make  consoli 
dated  morning  reports  daily  to  the  commanding  general  at  headquarters,  Col 
lege  Villa,  Tennallytown,  D.  C. 

2d.  The  adjutant  of  each  command,  assigned  as  above,  will  report  in  person 
to  the  commanding  general,  every  day  at  n  o'clock  A.  M. 

By  order  of  Brigadier-General  STURGIS. 

HENRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Captain  and  A.  A.  G. 

HEADQUARTERS,  TENTH  R.  I.  VOLUNTEERS. 
Circular:  June  3,  1862. 

For  the  present  water  will  be  obtained  from  the  spring  for  the  use  of  the 
camp.  It  has  been  freely  tested  by  companies  encamped  here  previously,  and 

is  reported  perfectly  good. 

ZEN  AS  R.  BLISS, 

Colonel  Commanding. 

HEADQUARTERS,  TENTH  R.  I.  VOLUNTEERS. 
Circular:  June  3,  1862. 

Divine  service  will  be  held  at  six  o'clock  this  evening,  at  which  the  officers, 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  are  invited  to  be  present.  Such  of  the 
men  of  the  several  companies  who  desire  to  attend  will  assemble  at  a  quarter 
before  six  upon  their  respective  company  parades,  and  be  conducted  under  the 
charge  of  a  non-commissioned  officer  to  the  grove  in  front  of  the  camp. 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

B.  F.  THURSTOX,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Lieutenant  and  Adjutant. 

HEADQUARTERS,  COLLEGE  VILLA, 
COL.  ZENAS  R.  BLISS,  June  6.  1862. 

Commanding  Tenth  R.  I.   Voh. 

SIR:     You  will  please  detail  ten  men  of  your  command  for  picket  duty  to 
night,  said  ten  men  to  be  accompanied  by  a  non-commissioned  officer. 
This  arrangement  to  be  observed  until  further  orders. 

By  order  of  Brigadier-General  STURGIS. 

HENRY  R.  MIGHELS, 

Captain  and  A.  A.  G. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


139 


Meanwhile  the  alarm  for  the  safety  of 
the  capital  had  slowly  subsided.  Stone 
wall  Jackson,  after  accomplishing  his  mis 
sion  of  alarming  Washington,  and  saving 
Richmond,  by  preventing  the  junction  of 
McDowell  and  McClellan,  rapidly  re 
treated  down  the  Valley,  burning  the 
bridges  after  him,  and  successfully  eluded 
the  combined  pursuit  of  Fremont,  Banks, 
and  McDowell,  with  60,000  men. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  which  had  been  created,  the 
Confederate  army  defending  Richmond  under  Gen.  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  made  a  furious  and  successful  attack  upon  the  left  wing 
of  General  McClellan's  army,  May  3ist,  at  Fair  Oaks,  but  the 
day  following,  June  ist,  it  turned  into  disaster  and  rout,  which  sent 
them  back  to  Richmond  in  a  panic.  General  Johnston  was 
severely  wounded,  and  General  Lee  assumed  the  chief  command. 

After  Fair  Oaks  there  was  a  pause  of  several  weeks  in  active 
operations  in  front  of  Richmond.  Rain  storms  of  great  severity, 
and  Virginia  mud,  rendered  further  advance  almost  impossible. 
All  was  quiet  also  on  the  Potomac,  among  the  troops  around  the 
capital,  and  the  regular  routine  of  camp-life  continued  at  Camp 
Frieze,  with  its  daily  drills  and  details  for  guard  and  picket  duty. 

May  29th,  a  second  detachment  for  the  regiment  was  sent  for 
ward  under  command  of  Colonel  Bliss,  and  arrived  at  camp  on 
Saturday  evening,  June  ist.  The  regiment  was  [assigned  to  the 
brigade  of  General  Sturgis,  and  was  mustered  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  by  Adjutant-General  Thomas,  June  9th. 


I4O  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Capt.  William  M.  Hale,  Company  I,  wrote  :  "  Camp  Frieze, 
Tennallytown,  D.  C.,  June  3d.  The  country  is  safe  again.  The 
gallant  Tenth  is  on  the  tented  field,  or  rather  a  side  hill  covered 
with  beautiful  oaks,  so  that  perhaps  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  field. 
At  any  rate  here  we  are  in  Tennallytown,  and  if  you  know  where 
that  is,  your  knowledge  of  geography  is  more  extensive  than  mine 
was  a  week  ago,  for  I  must  confess  that  in  the  whole  course  of  my 
travels,  the  name  of  this  ancient  borough  had  never  before  greeted 
my  ears.  And  in  fact  I  find  that  even  the  residents  here  are 
uncertain  as  to  the  precise  locality.  The  postmaster  says  it  is  in 
'the  District.'  The  oldest  inhabitants  say  it  is  in  Maryland,  and 
the  younger  inhabitants  don't  care  a  copper  where  it  is. 

"As  to  the  personnel  of  the  town,  little  requires  to  be  said.  A 
few  barns  and  hungry  looking  houses  straggle  along  a  lean  and 
hungry  looking  street.  A  tavern  and  blacksmith's  shop  confront 
each  other,  and  are  flanked  by  the  post-office.  In  the  rear  of  the 
latter  and  at  the  entrance  of  our  camp,  stands  the  village  church, 
never,  from  appearances,  a  very  notable  structure,  but  now,  alas ! 
sadly  dilapidated,  and  converted  to  other  uses  than  originally  in 
tended.  I  am  not  honored  with  the  acquaintance  of  the  worthy 
parson  who  formerly  ministered  to  the  wants  of  the  little  flock 
that  gathered  within  its  walls,  but  I  can  vouch  that  his  ministra 
tions  were  not  more  acceptable  to  them  than  are  those  of  his  suc 
cessor,  our  worthy  quartermaster,  to  the  more  numerous  flock  over 
whom  he  is  called  to  preside. 

"  Do  you  know  what  a  ration  is  ?  If  not,  Private  Stiness,  of  Com 
pany  I  (since  promoted  to  corporal),  can  tell  you,  for  I  saw  him 
receive  one.  It  consisted  of  four  bones,  gross  weight  two  and 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  141 

a  quarter  pounds,  and  some  meat,  gross  weight  the  same,  minus 
the  two.  The  bones  formerly  constituted  what  are  technically 
called  the  'chuck  ribs '  of  some  quadruped,  genus,  species  and  sex 
unknown.  The  corporal  has  carried  those  bones  in  his  haver 
sack  ever  since.  He  says  he  started  with  the  intention  of  leaving 
his  '  bones '  on  the  battlefield  if  necessary,  and  he  is  looking  for  a 
field  that  he  thinks  capable  of  holding  them.  He  is  the  feature 
of  the  company,  stands  five  feet  eleven,  in  army  socks,  and  girths 
a  little  less,  and  is  known  among  the  comrades  as  the  '  little 
giant.'  His  first  pair  of  army  drawers  reached  to  his  chin.  This 
he  considers  very  economical,  as  it  saves  the  necessity  of  shirts, 
and  enables  him  to  cut  up  those  useful  articles  into  pocket  hand 
kerchiefs.  When  he  shoulders  arms,  he  looks  like  a  pumpkin 
with  a  bean-pole  attachment,  and,  at  charge  bayonets,  a  private  is 
detailed  to  hold  up  the  muzzle,  in  which  position  they  resemble 
a  miniature  battering  ram  with  the  point  sharpened." 

H.  T.  Chase,  of  Company  D,  wrote  June  3d  :  "They  gave  us 
rations  of  salt  meat  and  pork  in  Washington  which  would  almost 
motion  to  us  when  to  come  to  dinner.  We  have  eaten  so  much 
salt  pork  of  late  that  we  are  inclined  to  speak  in  grunts,  prick 
up  our  ears,  and  perform  other  animal  demonstrations."  Another 
man  said  he  had  some  hard-tack  that  was  marked  "  B.  C." 
"  Still  I  find  no  fault,"  wrote  Chase.  "  These  things  have  now 
changed  for  the  better.  I  am  well  and  good  natured,  but  I  never 
had  so  tough  an  experience  in  the  same  time  in  my  life.  This 
afternoon  I  saw  a  man  sitting  on  a  stump  getting  his  hair  cut. 
So  I  took  my  turn  and  went  through  the  same  operation.  Charge, 
five  cents.  The  barber  belongs  to  one  of  the  companies.  He 


142  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

said  he  left  a  wife  and  two  little  children  at  home,  but  would  not 
let  his  wife  bring  the  children  down  to  the  cars,  '  For,'  said  he,  as 
the  tears  started,  'I  could  not  stand  it.'  Saw  a  southern  woman 
to-day  give  her  little  girl  a  penny.  On  my  asking  her  what  she 
would  do  with  it,  the  mother  replied,  '  Oh,  she  will  get  shet  of  it !  ' 

Lieutenant  DeWolf,  of  Company  D,  June  3d,  wrote:  "The 
elevation  of  our  camp  is  considerable,  for  it  appears  to  be  down 
hill  for  three  miles  in  every  direction,  the  air  is  deliciously  pure, 
water  good  and  plentiful.  To  the  north  and  west  a  line  of  gray 
mist  marks  the  valley  of  the  Potomac,  whose  rapid  stream  is  con 
fined  at  present  to  its  summer  bed,  a  deep,  rocky  channel  of  150 
feet,  on  the  east  side  of  which  a  bottom  500  yards,  strewn  with 
huge  boulders,  marks  the  width  of  the  winter  torrents.  The 
point  nearest  to  us  is  Chain  Bridge,  three  miles  distant,  whose 
approaches  are  strictly  guarded.  Just  above,  in  the  eddies  of  the 
rapids,  your  correspondent,  with  a  couple  of  friends,  dove  and 
splashed  and  dabbled,  the  other  day,  attaining  to  that  beatific  con 
dition  so  rare  with  a  soldier,  perfect  cleanliness. 

"  It  was  Sunday.  Shadows  from  the  dense  Virginia  forests 
overhung  the  stream.  We  had  no  Sabbath  services,  no  chaplain 
then,  but  if  the  duty  of  godliness  met  no  outward  recognition,  the 
very  next  injunction  of  the  apostle  was  most  scrupulously  ob 
served. 

"A  few  words  will  tell  how  we  got  here.  One  night  in  the 
Washington  barracks  satisfied  us  all.  We  fell  in  with  alacrity  to 
march  anywhere.  The  day  was  warm,  so  that  the  order  to  pile 
knapsacks  and  overcoats  into  the  wagons  was  a  great  relief.  On 
passing  through  the  city,  many  friends  from  Providence  waved 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  143 

their  hats  from  sidewalk  and  windows,  while  those  of  us  who  were 
here  last  year  recognized  more  than  one  familiar  face  among  the 
Washingtonians.  Governor  Sprague  accompanied  us,  and  Messrs. 
Anthony,  Browne  and  Sheffield  of  our  Congressional  delegation, 
have  been  constant  in  their  attentions  to  our  regiments.  As  we 
passed  along  the  question  was  heard  on  every  side,  '  What  regi 
ments  are  those  ? ' 

"  '  Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  ? ' 

"  '  When  were  you  enlisted  ? ' 

"  '  Monday  morning,  and  started  Tuesday  afternoon,'  —  of 
course  we  could  not  help  adding — '  800  more  are  on  the  way.' 

"'Good  Lord!'  ejaculated  one  by-stander,  '  how  many  men 
have  you  got  in  Rhode  Island?  I  thought  you  was  played  out 
long  ago.' 

"  The  Secretary  of  War  is  reported  to  have  said  that  at  the  rate 
the  '  emergency  men  '  were  coming  in,  he  should  soon  have  500,- 
ooo,  and  he  believed  100,000  of  them  would  be  from  Rhode 
Island. 

"  The  march  of  six  miles  to  this  place,  commencing  with  dust 
and  ending  with  mud  and  a  hard  rain,  was  rather  severe  upon  a 
few  of  the  men;  but  the  next  morning  found  them  as  well  as  ever. 

"  Company  D  were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  dry  quarters  in 
a  house.  The  next  day  was  occupied  in  laying  out  the  camp  and 
pitching  the  tents.  The  Tenth  Regiment  occupies  the  side  next 
the  road,  the  Ninth  west  of  them,  and  the  battery  just  north  of 
the  latter.  The  men  are  provided  with  tents  of  the  Sibley  pattern, 
intended  for  fifteen  each,  but  made  to  hold  twenty-two  the  first 
night.  The  men  sleep  in  a  circle,  heads  outward,  and  at  night, 


144  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

when  every  man  is  in  his  place,  the  resemblance  of  the  group  to 
a  huge  wheel,  with  the  pile  of  muddy  feet  in  the  centre  for  a  hub, 
every  man  a  spoke,  and  the  continuous  line  of  knapsacks  around 
the  outside  for  the  felloe,  is  decidedly  striking.  The  officers  have 
wall  tents  facing  the  streets  upon  which  their  several  companies 
reside. 

"But,  oh,  the  first  guard  mounting  and  posting  of  sentinels  1 
In  after  time  you  shall  hear  our  youthful  sergeants  and  corporals 
telling  their  grandchildren,  with  a  quiet  laugh,  of  their  blunders 
and  perplexities  on  that  rainy,  dismal  night.  But  at  length  the 
guards  are  posted.  My  beat  is  along  a  narrow  lane  skirting  a 
little  churchyard.  The  edifice  itself,  shabby  and  windowless,  is 
filled  with  commissary  stores.  Its  rafters  echo  anything  but  the 
voice  of  prayer.  Up  and  down  I  pace  in  the  dreary  rain,  shielding 
the  lock  of  my  musket  as  well  as  I  can  in  my  rubber  capote.  A 
figure  approaches,  dimly  visible  in  the  shadows. 

"'Halt!     Who  goes  there?' 

if  'A  friend,  with  the  countersign.' 

"  'Advance,  friend,  and  give  the  countersign.' 

"  The  talisman  is  whispered  at  the  point  of  my  bayonet,  and 
the  figure  passes  on.  Now  and  then  I  hear  a  challenge  at  some 
distant  point.  The  reply  is  not  satisfactory,  and  the  call  is  passed 
from  guard  to  guard. 

"  '  Corporal  of  the  guard — post  17  !' 

"The  sleepy  officer  stumbles  through  the  mud  to  post  17,  and 
the  case  is  soon  settled. 

"In  the  silence  I  resume  my  beat.  Over  the  low  paling,  in  a 
grass  grown  corner  of  the  enclosure,  half  a  dozen  headstones,. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  145 

yellow  and  streaked  with  rain,  are  visible.  Round  about  the 
resting  place  where 

'  The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep,' 

has  been  heard  the  bustle  of  great  camps,  the  tread  of  armies  for 
more  than  a  year,  yet  they  slumber  on.  Their  march  is  over. 
They  have  passed  beyond  the  camps  of  life,  and  long  ago  heard 
the  challenge  of  the  other  world  sentinels.  Had  they  the  coun 
tersign  ? 

"As  I  pace  my  lonely  round,  I  hear  a  bustle  in  the  guard  tent, 

"  'Third  relief,  turn  out.     Turn  out !' 

"  Presently  they  come,  the  challenge  is  exchanged.  I  am  off 
duty  for  four  hours,  and  fling  myself  to  sleep  upon  the  wet  straw 
of  the  guard-tent,  wedged  in  among  twenty-two  men,  reeking 
with  rain  and  perspiration,  and  do  sleep  soundly, — so  good  night." 

Corp.  George  T.  Baker,  of  Company  B,  says  :  "  The  members 
of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  were  indeed  in  a  sorry  plight  the  first 
night  in  camp.  They  were  without  shelter  in  a  dreary  rainstorm,, 
and  darkness  came  on  before  the  tents  arrived  in  camp,  when  all 
hands,  although  wet  and  tired,  went  to  work  with  a  will,  putting 
them  up.  Company  E,  Capt.  Hopkins  B.  Cady,  were  detailed  for 
picket  duty  about  a  mile  in  advance  of  our  position.  At  a  late 
hour,  after  the  camp  was  still,  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer,  of  Company  B, 
made  a  visit  to  each  tent  to  inquire  after  the  welfare  of  his  men. 
Stopping  at  the  High  School  headquarters,  he  asked,  '  Can  I  do 
anything  for  you,  men  ? '  '  Nothing,  thank  you,  captain,'  was  the 
courteous  reply,  when  some  joker  bent  on  mischief,  added,  'We 
wouldn't  mind  having  a  candle,  captain  ! '  This  proved  too  much 
10 


146  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

for    even    the   gravity  of    the  captain,    and    he    exclaimed,   '  God 
bless  you,  men,  do  you  think  you're  in  a  hotel  ? '  '' 

Capt.  A.  Crawford  Greene,  Company  G,  wrote,  June  5th  :  "  Our 
regiments  have  had  no  time  to  perfect  themselves  in  drill,  neither 
have  we  received  our  necessary  quartermaster  stores.  We  are 
sadly  in  need  of  clothing,  as  many  of  our  men  wore  the  poorest 
garments  they  had,  expecting  to  exchange  them  for  the  govern 
ment  uniform.  The  rations  served  have  also  been  short  of  the 
allowance,  but  on  the  whole  we  are  getting  along  well,  and  the 
mass  of  the  men  are  contented.  The  health  of  the  regiment  is 
good,  and  with  our  present  rations  we  may  safely  say  that  it  will 
continue.  (At  present  they  consist  of  salt  junk,  bread,  and  coffee 
without  milk.)  The  story  of  the  poisoning  of  one  of  the  men  of 
Company  G,  in  Baltimore,  is  entirely  incorrect.  We  did  not 
know  but  that  we  might  have  some  trouble  in  that  city,  and  dis 
tributed  ten  rounds  of  ball-cartridges,  but  we  had  no  occasion  to 
use  them ;  on  the  contrary  we  were  served  with  a  good  collation 
by  the  Baltimore  Union  Soldiers'  Relief  Association.  One  of  the 
pickets  of  the  New  York  Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  which  is  en 
camped  near  us,  was  shot  while  on  duty,  Friday  evening  last. 
The  scoundrel  who  committed  the  deed  was  arrested  and  sent  to 
Washington  on  Saturday.  He  was  a  desperate  looking  fellow, 
and  made  his  boast  that  he  had  shot  six  Union  soldiers  before. 
May  he  meet  the  retribution  he  so  justly  deserves. 

"The  tented  fields  loom  up  on  almost  every  side.  Quite  a 
large  number  of  forts  also  surround  us.  The  almost  hourly 
belching  forth  of  their  numerous  weapons  of  destruction  give 
ample  assurance  that  they  are  well  manned  and  ready  for  action. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  147 

The  sharp  crack  of  the  picket's  rifle  enlivens  the  monotony  of 
camp-life.  We  shall  now  commence  the  regular  routine  of  drill, 
which  will  keep  us  fully  employed.  At  present  a  large  num 
ber  of  the  secessionists  have  left  the  neighborhood,  and  re 
treated  to  a  safer  locality  further  down  in  Dixie.  The  houses  are 
generally  left  in  charge  of  one  or  two  slaves.  The  country  is 
very  rich  and  fertile,  but  owing  to  the  cold  dry  spring  vegetation 
is  rather  backward.  The  stock  of  grass  is  very  heavy,  the 
farmers  tell  us  the  yield  being  larger  by  far  than  last  year. 
Quartermaster  Cook  is  occupying  the  meeting-house  of  the  town 
for  our  stores,  to  the  disappointment  of  those  who  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  appropriating  it  for  religious  purposes.  We  learn, 
however,  that  it  is  to  be  cleared  out  and  that  our  beloved  chaplain, 
Rev.  Mr.  Clapp,  is  to  occupy  it  for  religious  services  on  the 
coming  Sabbath.  So  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  there  are  a 
large  number  of  Christian  people  in  our  regiments,  and  by  the 
services  held  here  nightly,  we  think  they  are  determined  to  im 
prove  the  opportunity  for  showing  it,  and  when  we  return  home 
we  hope  to  be  better  men  than  when  we  came  out." 

James  F.  Field,  wrote  Sunday,  June  ist  :  "Friday  night,  the 
3Oth,  was  our  first  in  camp  after  the  march  from  Washington. 
It  was  dark  and  rainy,  and  I  slept  on  the  ground  in  an  old  build 
ing,  which  looked  as  though  it  had  been  formerly  a  school-house  or 
a  church.  The  next  day,  Saturday,  we  had  the  job  of  pulling  down 
our  tents  and  putting  them  up  again.  The  company  tents  are  now 
in  parallel  rows,  all  facing  one  way  with  the  officers'  tents  at  the 
head  of  the  rows.  Just  as  our  work  was  about  completed  a  bat 
tery  of  ten  guns  came  thundering  along  from  Washington,  bound 


148  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

for  Harper's  Ferry  (threatened  by  Stonewall  Jackson).  It  is 
about  forty-five  miles  southwest  of  here.  They  reported  that  they 
left  the  second  detachment  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments 
at  the  White  House,  and  that  they  would  be  here  in  about  an 
hour.  This  caused  quite  a  thrill  of  joy  in  the  camp.  As  soon 
as  we  were  relieved,  quite  a  number  of  us  started  up  the  road 
to  meet  them.  Soon  the  line  appeared  in  sight,  and  as  they 
came  up  I  was  surprised  to  find  several  acquaintances,  among 
them  five  from  the  High  School.  It  had  just  commenced  raining, 
and  we  welcomed  them  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  into  our  own 
tent,  while  we  put  up  others  for  them.  One  of  the  second 
detachment  (William  A.  Spicer),  joined  our  'mess,'  which  was 
very  agreeable  to  him  and  to  us.  He  brought  with  him  two  or 
three  papers,  and  one-half  of  Thursday's  Evening  Press  which  were 
eagerly  read. 

"June  6th.  Dr.  George  D.  Wilcox  has  been  appointed  surgeon, 
and  Dr.  Albert  G.  Sprague,  assistant-surgeon.  Rev.  A.  H.  Clapp, 
of  the  Beneficent  Church,  our  chaplain,  is  settled  down  in  camp 
and  is  to  be  also  the  postmaster  of  the  regiment.  It  is  said  that 
there  are  seven  or  eight  thousand  troops  around  here.  Among 
them  are  the  Sixty-third  Indiana,  the  Fifty-ninth  New  York  and 
Seventy-first  New  York,  the  Eleventh  and  Seventeenth  Regulars, 
the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island 
Battery,  and  a  Pennsylvania  regiment.  A  few  rods  from  here  is 
Fort  Pennsylvania,  mounting  a  dozen  heavy  guns.  It  is  manned 
by  a  portion  of  the  Fifty-ninth  New  York  Volunteers.  There  are 
several  other  large  forts  and  batteries  near  by  which  guard  the 
approaches  to  the  capital  from  the  upper  Potomac. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  149 

"June  8th.  Our  duties  for  each  day  are  as  follows  :  We  are 
obliged  to  get  up  and  form  in  line  at  half  past  four  in  the  morning 
for  'reveille'  or  roll-call.  After  that  each  'mess'  has  a  'squad 
drill '  for  an  hour,  and  then  breakfast  at  half  past  six.  Drill  from 
ten  to  half  past  eleven.  Dinner  at  one  o'clock,  preceded  by  an 
other  roll-call.  From  three  to  five  'company  drill,'  roll  call  at  six, 
and  supper  at  6.30.  Another  roll-call  at  nine,  'tattoo  '  and  'taps' 
at  9.30,  when  all  lights  must  be  out,  and  all  noise  cease. 

"  Yesterday  I  was  on  guard  from  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  until  nine 
o'clock  this  morning.  My  beat  was  in  front  of  the  colonel's, 
adjutant's,  and  quartermaster's  tents  of  the  Ninth  Regiment 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers  (the  Ninth  and  Tenth  are  in  the  same 
camp).  In  the  day  time  I  did  not  have  much  to  do,  simply  pre 
venting  persons  not  belonging  to  the  tents  from  going  into  them. 
At  night,  by  mistake,  the  countersign  was  given  to  me,  which 
should  not  have  been  done  as  it  is  only  intended  for  the  outside 
guards.  I  had  orders  not  to  let  any  one  pass  between  the  tents 
across  my  beat,  or  in  or  out  of  the  tent  without  the  countersign. 
Some  of  the  officers  were  not  provided  with  the  password  as 
they  had  never  been  obliged  to  use  it.  Scarcely  had  I  passed  a 
few  times,  back  and  forth,  when  the  quartermaster  approached 
his  tent.  I  stopped  him,  saying, 'Halt !'  '  Who  comes  there  ?'  He 
answered  'the  quartermaster.'  'Advance  quartermaster,  and 
give  the  countersign!  '  He  said  that  he  was  the  quartermaster, 
but  had  not  the  countersign.  I  called  for  the  corporal  of  the 
guard,  who  allowed  him  go  to  his  tent.  I  also  halted  the  col 
onel,  who  gave  me  the  countersign.  To-day  I  ought  to  have 
slept,  but  I  took  the  time  for  writing  letters  home." 


150  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Home  correspondence  was  now  com 
menced  with  an  alacrity  which  nearly 
"snowed  under"  the  village  post-office. 
Corp.  C.  F.  Pabodie,  of  Company  H, 
wrote  a  few  days  later  :  "  We  have  our 
letters  directed  to  us  at  Washington 
now,  instead  of  at  Tennallytown  as  at 
first.  It  appears  that  the  village  post 
master  had  been  in  the  habit  of  receiv 
ing  only  one  or  two  letters  per  day,  previous  to  our  arrival,  and 
when  he  begun  to  get  upwards  of  a  thousand,  he  didn't  know 
'what  on  'airth  to  do  with  them.'  They  say  he  has  been  in  the 
hospital  ever  since. 

"A  detachment  of  the  Seventeenth  Regulars  are  now  encamped 
near  us.  They  are  illy  provided  with  camp  utensils,  knapsacks, 
overcoats,  etc.,  and  it  is  reported,  help  themselves  to  anything  they 
can  lay  their  hands  on.  I  lost  my  overcoat  while  helping  to  pitch 
tents,  but  have  held  on  to  my  knapsack.  We  get  used  to  the  fatigue 
here.  My  knapsack  keeps  growing  lighter  every  day.  We  have 
had  not  much  else  but  rain  since  we  have  been  here.  When  it  is 
pleasant  it  is  quite  warm. 

"Monday,  June  2cl,  we  (Company  H),  were  informed  that  we 
were  detailed  for  guard  duty  for  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  At 
9.30  A.  M.,  we  were  marched  out  and  went  through  the  ceremony 
of  guard  mounting  and  taking  our  position  at  the  guard  tent. 
Guard  mounting  is  done  in  the  following  way  :  The  new  guard 
being  drawn  up  in  double  line,  are  divided  into  three  portions  gen 
erally.  The  first  detachment  are  kept  in  line,  the  rest  are  allowed 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  151 

to  hang  around  the  guard  tent  until  wanted.  The  first  detach 
ment  then  marches  off  under  charge  of  the  corporal,  who  puts  the 
men  in  the  places  occupied  by  the  old  guard,  who  fall  in  behind. 
Thus  they  go  round  the  lines.  There  are  many  minutse  required 
by  the  tactics  which  would  take  too  long  to  describe.  The  cor 
poral  of  the  guard,  after  posting  his  men,  has  to  remain  at  the 
guard  tent  till  they  are  relieved,  for  whenever  any  disturbance 
happens  in  the  lines,  the  guard,  if  he  cannot  decide  nor  quiet  it 
himself,  calls  out  the  number  of  his  post  and  calls  for  the  corporal 
of  the  guard,  who  must  proceed  to  the  post  and  see  what  is  the 
matter. 

"  During  the  day,  the  guards  are  on  two  hours  and  off  four 
hours.  When  there  are  enough  the  same  arrangement  is  carried 
out  again  at  night.  But  there  were  not  enough  of  us,  as  the  guard 
has  to  be  doubled  at  night,  so  our  men  were  on  two  hours  and 
off  two  hours,  the  three  detachments  we  had  during  the  day, 
being  divided  into  two.  During  the  day  the  guard  had  orders  to 
allow  no  one  to  pass  in  or  out  except  commissioned  officers,  men 
with  passes,  men  for  water,  and  civilians.  At  night  a  counter 
sign  was  given  them,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  pass  except  with 
that  countersign.  The  orders  were  to  pass  all  men  to  the  guard 
house,  who  attempted  to  come  in  without  the  word.  Towards 
morning  I  had  just  started  away  from  the  guard  house  accom 
panying  the  men  who  were  to  relieve  my  guard  then  on  duty, 
when  the  cry  was  passed  along  the  lines  for  the  corporal  of  the 
guard,  post  16.  I  hurried  to  the  post  designated,  which  was 
down  at  the  extremity  of  the  camp  in  a  swamp,  and  found  the 
affair  as  follows  :  Number  15,  was  a  small,  very  stupid  Irishman, 


152  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

who  had  got  off  his  beat  into  number  i6's  beat,  and,  being  chal 
lenged,  had  forgotten  the  countersign.  Number  16  held  him  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  threatened  to  run  him  through  if 
he  stirred.  When  I  reached  them,  number  15  was  shaking  with 
fear,  and  when  I  inquired  what  was  the  matter,  could  hardly  ejacu 
late  that  he  had  forgotten  the  countersign.  This  round  was  the 
hardest  one  I  made  during  the  night.  It  was  so  dark  I  could  not 
see  the  length  of  my  musket  ahead,  except  when  it  lightened, 
and  could  only  find  the  old  guard  by  calling  out  so  they  could 
hear  us  and  challenge  us.  Once  I  ran  against  a  stump  about 
three  feet  high,  and  tumbled  over,  musket  and  all.  We  were 
glad  to  be  relieved  at  ten  the  next  morning.  The  day  after  being 
on  guard  we  were  relieved  from  all  duty,  so  we  had  the  whole 
day  to  rest  in." 

"  Chain  Bridge,"  wrote  Lieut.  C.  F.  Phillips,  "  barricaded  and 
guarded  by  a  German  regiment,  is  about  two  miles  to  the  left  of 
our  camp.  The  position  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Battery, 
recently  arrived,  is  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  of  our  camp.  They 
have  for  neighbors  an  artillery  company  of  the  regular  army. 
Our  guard  tent  is  for  the  most  part  orderly  except  in  one  in 
stance,  when  the  man  with  iron  jaws  persisted  in  chewing  up 
several  tent  pins  into  fragments,  which  had  been  improvised  as  a 
'  gag '  to  keep  him  quiet. 

"  Picket  duty.  The  first  detail  from  Company  B  for  picket 
duty  was  made  two  or  three  nights  ago,  in  the  midst  of  a  furious 
thunder  storm.  The  squad  was  accompanied  by  Captain  Dyer, 
and  marched  perhaps  two  miles  down  the  Fredericktown  road, 
and  halted  in  front  of  a  wheelwright  shop.  Captain  Dyer  went  to 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  153 

the  adjoining  house  for  the  key  of  the  shop  and  knocked. 
Instantly  the  lights  inside  were  extinguished,  but  as  the  knocking 
grew  louder  a  head  appeared  at  an  upper  window.  '  What  do  you 
want  ?'  'The  key  of  your  wagon  shop  and  a  light.'  '  Well,  you 
won't  get  them,'  and  down  went  the  window  with  a  bang.  '  Take 
forcible  possession  of  the  shop,'  shouted  Captain  Dyer,  and  the 
key  and  light  were  instantly  forthcoming,  just  in  time  to  save  the 
door,  and  the  men,  wet  to  the  skin,  found  a  shelter.  The  wheel 
wright  shop  from  that  hour  became  the  headquarters  of  the 
picket  guard,  and  the  picket  line  was  established  about  half  a  mile 
beyond." 

An  amusing  capture  was  made  during  the  night  by  Captain 
Dyer's  men,  which  is  thus  described  in  the  author's  personal 
narrative  : 

"  Last  night  a  fellow  was  brought  in  from  our  picket  line  who 
had  stayed  out  too  late,  courting  one  of  the  fair  F.  F.  V.'s.  He 
was  decked  out  in  light  vest  and  pants,  and  came  galloping  along 
on  horseback,  when  Fiske,  one  of  our  mess,  jumped  into  the  mid 
dle  of  the  road,  with  bayonet  at  the  charge,  and  yelled,  'Who 
goes  there  ? '  The  rider  jumped  back  in  his  stirrups  and  pulled 
up,  badly  frightened,  exclaiming,  'It's  m-m-me  ! '  'Advance  me 
and  give  the  countersign  !  '  'Twas  no  go,  he  had  to  give  it  up. 
'Then  you're  my  prisoner,'  says  Fiske,  and  he  had  to  go  into 
camp  with  us  for  the  rest  of  the  night,  and  was  turned  over  to 
the  officer  of  the  guard.  Colonel  Robbins  told  one  of  the  guard 
'to  keep  his  eye  on  that  fellow  who  had  been  out  to  see  his  gal !  * 
'Twas  pretty  rough,  I'll  admit,  but  I  guess  he'll  keep  better 
hours  in  future." 
20 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Bathing  and  swimming  at 
Chain  Bridge,  on  the  Poto 
mac,  and  in  Rock  Creek, 
near  by,  were  luxuries  which 
we  greatly  enjoyed  during 
our  month's  stay  at  Camp 
Frieze,  and  they  did  much, 
no  doubt,  towards  promoting 
the  health  of  the  regiment. 
"  On  the  first  Sunday  after 
noon,  the  chaplain  not  hav 
ing  yet  arrived,  a  company 
of  us  obtained  permission  for 
a  tramp  to  Rock  Creek.  We 
kept  well  together,  as  the 
neighborhood  was  considered 

unfriendly.  We  took  our  canteens  along,  which  served  a  novel 
and  useful  purpose.  The  banks  were  lined  with  soldiers  enjoying 
the  cleansing  and  reviving  influences  of  the  water." 

"Last  Saturday,"  wrote  James  F.  Field,  "nine  of  us  crossed 
the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  We  obtained  a  pass  from  Captain 
Dyer,  endorsed  by  Colonel  Bliss,  which  allowed  us  to  go  over  the 
river  into  Virginia,  if  we  behaved  ourselves,  which  we  did  ac 
cordingly.  The  principal  road  to  the  Potomac  was  so  narrow  in 
some  places  as  to  allow  but  one  carriage  to  pass  along.  What 
they  do  when  two  carriages  meet  I  do  not  know.  We  tramped 
about  five  miles  in  going,  not  knowing  exactly  the  way,  but  in 
returning  to  camp  we  traveled  only  two  miles.  We  went  across  the 


Cleaning  Up 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  155 

Potomac  on  Chain  Bridge,  which  is  made  of  wood,  with  seven  heavy 
stone  abutments.  It  was  formerly  held  by  chains,  which  probably 
gave  it  the  name  of  Chain  Bridge,  There  was  a  guard  of  artil 
lery  stationed  on  this  side  of  the  bridge  to  prevent  any  one  from 
going  across  without  a  pass.  Commanding  the  bridge  and  on  a 
level  with  it  was  an  earthen  breastwork,  pierced  for  three  guns, 
which  could  sweep  the  bridge  if  necessary.  On  a  high  bluff  right 
above  this  is  another  earthwork,  with  three  or  four  heavy  guns, 
which  command  the  opposite  shore.  Near  the  centre  of  the 
bridge  are  two  large,  heavy  gates,  which  completely  divide  the 
bridge.  The  gates  are  plated  with  iron,  with  slits  for  skirmish 
ers  and  pickets  to  fire  through,  which  were  dented  in  several 
places  by  bullet  and  rifle-balls  fired  by  secession  pickets.  The 
river  at  that  time  was  only  about  forty  or  fifty  feet  wide,  it  being 
the  dry  season.  It  is  of  a  muddy  color,  about  the  same  as  the 
color  of  the  soil.  We  walked  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  into  Vir 
ginia,  and  bathed  ourselves  thoroughly  in  a  stream  which  flowed 
into  the  Potomac.  Close  to  the  bank  were  the  remains  of  some 
bowers  or  huts,  which,  probably,  the  secession  pickets  had  made 
for  their  quarters,  as  there  were  remains  of  fire-places  near  them. 
The  day  was  the  warmest  that  we  have  yet  had,  the  thermometer 
being  at  camp  that  noon,  104°.  On  our  way  back  we  stopped  at 
'  Fort  Gaines.'  It  mounted  four  32-pound  barbette  guns.  It 
is  garrisoned  by  a  company  of  the  Fifty-ninth  New  York  Volun 
teers.  The  earthwork  was  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  thick,  with  a 
ditch  about  as  wide  and  six  or  eight  feet  deep,  on  the  outside  of 
which  were  large  trees,  laid  lengthwise,  to  hinder  infantry  from 
going  through  them  to  the  fort." 


156 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


CAMP,  near  Tennallytown,   D.   C,  June   loth. 

LETTER    FROM    THE    AUTHOR. 

"To-day  is  a  rainy  one  in  camp,  and  the  boys 
are  either  asleep,  writing  letters,  or  taking  it 
easy.  By  General  Orders  No.  I,  issued  yester 
day,  our  camp  will  hereafter  be  known  as  Camp 
Frieze,  and  the  strictest  discipline  and  good 
order  will  be  observed.  According  to  the  order 
there  will  be  eleven  calls  sounded  each  day,  as 
follows:  Reveille,  at  4.30  o'clock  A.  M.  ;  Police  call,  Breakfast, 
6.30  A.  M.  ;  Sick  call  at  7  A.  M.  ;  Adjutant's  call  at  8.45  A.  M.  ; 
Guard-mounting  at  9  A.  M.  ;  Orderly  call  at  12  M.  ;  Roast  Beef, 
Dinner,  at  i  P.  M.  ;  Supper,  6.30  P.  M.  ;  Retreat  at  sunset  (when 
the  companies  form  under  arms)  ;  Tattoo  at  9  P.  M".  ;  Taps  9.30  P. 
M.  There  are  four  roll  calls  each  day,  and  as  many  drills.  Divine 
service  will  be  held  every  Sunday  at  1  1  A.  M.  (For  full  order,  see 
pages  77,  78  and  79.) 

Our  tents  are  arranged  in  parallel  rows,  with  streets  or  ave 
nues  between.  Company  A,  Captain  Taber,  has  Atwood  avenue, 
named  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Alice  Atwood,  who  made  and  presented 
the  men  with  a  hundred  pin-cushions,  filled  with  pins.  Company 
B,  Captain  Dyer,  has  Dyer  avenue  ;  Company  C,  Captain  Vose, 
Broadway  ;  Company  D,  Captain  Dunham,  Benefit  street,  and  so 
on.  The  college  boys  of  Brown,  in  the  tent  adjoining  ours,  call 
their  quarters  'Hope  College.'  Per  order  of  the  High  School 
boys  I  have  printed  the  sign  'Whang  Hotel,'  on  a  board,  and 
hung  it  up  over  our  tent  opening. 


Whang'  is  a  broad 


slang' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  157 

expression  for  our  broader  army  shoes,  seventeen  pairs  of  which 
lie  mixed  up  round  the  centre-pole  every  night.  The  names  of  the 
proprietors  are  as  follows :  Sergt.  Charles  L.  Stafford,  Corporals 
William  P.  Vaughan,  George  T.  Baker,  John  B.  Kelly,  Nathan 
H.  Baker,  and  high  privates  Edwin  B.  Fiske,  John  A.  Reynolds, 
Frank  Frost,  James  F.  Field,  F.  F.  Tingley,  Charles  B.  Greene, 
Charles  T.  Greene,  Horace  K.  Blanchard,  George  H.  Sparhawk, 
William  A.  Spicer,  David  Hunt,  and  Jesse  M.  Bush.  William 
Grant  and  Ira  Wilbur  are  in  Company  E,  Captain  Cady. 

"  Many  of  the  tents  in  the  other  companies  have  pet  names, 
such  as  '  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,'  'Hawkins's  Happy  Family,'  'Blue 
Point  House,'  'Mess  of  Cabbage,  Company  F,'  'Chateau  de 
Salt  Junk,'  and  'The  Rhubarb  Mess'  of  Company  G.  So  you 
see  there  is  considerable  'spice'  mixed  with  army  life.  There 
is  indeed  some  'fun,'  although  a  great  deal  more  of  the  reverse 
character.  Every  morning  we  have  to  be  up  and  in  the  ranks  at 
half  past  four,  which  you  must  know  is  hard  for  some  of  us.  So 
also  are  the  military  drills  in  the  hot  sun  morning  and  afternoon, 
We  sleep  on  the  hard  ground  with  only  a  thin  layer  of  straw  and 
a  rubber  blanket  to  keep  off  the  dampness.  Yet  we  sleep  well, 
with  our  knapsacks  under  our  heads,  and  one  blanket  apiece  for 
a  covering. 

"  Fiske,  of  our  '  mess/  told  Captain  Dyer  that  it  was  pretty 
'tough'  for  him  to  come  down  to  such  hard  fare,  as  for  two  or 
three  weeks  before  enlisting  he'd  been  out  '  visiting '  among 
'his  folks,'  and  never  had  such  high  living  in  his  life.  Another 
said  that  he  was  going  to  write  home,  that  he'd  never  object  any 
more  to  'corned  beef  and  cabbage '  once  a  week. 


'58 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT. 


"  Our  rations  have  thus  far 
consisted  of  salt  meat  and 
pork,  'hard  tack'  or  hard 
crackers,  and  black,  strong 
coffee.  They  have  been  of 
such  a  uniformly  bad  quality 
since  we  arrived  in  Washing 
ton,  that  some  of  us  have  been 
out  to  a  neighboring  farm 
house,  to  get  a  good  square 
meal  for  twenty-five  cents! 
And  didn't  it  go  good  ?  One  trouble  is  that  there  is  no  variety  to 
our  bill  of  fare,  it  is  the  same  old  horse  day  after  day."  As  I  now 
look  back  upon  the  situation,  it  reminds  me  of  the  story  of  a 
boarder  in  a  small  country  tavern,  who  came  down  into  the 


dining-room   one  morning,  and   casting  a 


glance  over 


the  table,  jammed  down  into  his  chair,  and  muttered  under  his 
breath,  "Liver  again,  of  course.  We've  had  liver  every  morning 
for  two  weeks."  "  What's  the  matter,"  asked  the  landlady,  "  aren't 
you  feeling  well  this  morning  ?  "  "  No,  ma'am,"  he  replied,  shortly, 
"  I  am  suffering  with  liver  complaint." 

But  thanks  to  the  efficiency  of  our  new  quartermaster,  James 
H.  Armington,  our  rations  greatly  improved  after  this  time.  He 
was  second  lieutenant  of  Company  D,  and  by  General  Orders 
No.  u,  June  /th,  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  Company  C, 
and  detailed  as  quartermaster.  He  proceeded  to  Washington, 
and  pressed  our  claims  upon  the  Commissary  Department  with 
such  persistency  that  he  was  ordered  to  report  under  arrest. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  159 

The  return  of  the  genial  quartermaster  to  camp,  and  his 
report  at  headquarters,  with  the  order  of  arrest  signed  by  General 
Wadsworth,  caused  a  considerable  sensation.  Colonel  Bliss 
laughed  heartily,  and  thought  it  was  a  good  joke  on  Armington, 
but  sustained  him  by  issuing  General  Orders  No.  15,  relieving 
him  from  arrest.  He  proved  a  very  capable  and  faithful  quarter 
master,  and  our  'rations'  steadily  improved,  but  at  the  best 
"  Ther  warn't  overly  much  pie  et,  endurin'  '  the  army.'  " 

Captain  Duckworth,  of  Company   H,   furnishes  the  following 

for  publication  : 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  July  12,  1887. 
MAJ.  CHRISTOPHER  DUCKWORTH, 

Pawtucket,  R.  I. 

MY  DEAR  MAJOR:  My  friend  Stiness  has  this  day  forwarded  me  the  copy  of 
General  Orders  No.  15,  issued  at  headquarters  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Vol 
unteers,  June  16,  1862.  Permit  me  to  thank  you,  not  only  for  the  preservation 
of  this  old  document,  but  for  your  kindness  in  sending  it  to  me. 

How  much  it  reminds  me  of  the  particular  instance  which  caused  the  ordering 
of  my  arrest;  and  of  the  good  fellow,  and  brave  soldier,  who  was  with  me  on 
the  occasion,  Adjt.  John  F.  Tobey,  and  who  has  now  "passed  to  his  rest." 
Full  well,  too,  do  I  remember  the  martinet  who  ordered  me  to  "report  under 
arrest,"  and  the  hearty  laugh  with  which  his  explanation  for  ordering  me  under 
arrest  was  received,  when  he  was  waited  upon  by  Colonel  Bliss  and  Adjutant 
Tobey.  I  remember  also,  that  this  same  officer  was  to  have  been  nominated  by 
Hon.  John  P.  Hale,  for  a  brigadier-general,  but  that  after  he  (Hale)  had  visited 
our  camp,  in  company  with  Governor  Anthony,  the  said  officer  was  not  nomi 
nated,  and  did  not  receive  that  honor,  while  his  brother  officers  who  were  asso 
ciated  with  him  were  nominated  and  confirmed  as  brigadier-generals. 

I  should  be  very  much  pleased  to  meet  you,  and  I  hope  that  whenever  you 
visit  your  brother  here,  you  will  not  forget  to  call  on  me.  With  kind  regards 

1  am 

Very  trulv  vours, 

JAMES  II.  ARMINGTON. 


160  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"  Yesterday  we  were  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  by  Adjt.-Gen. 
Lorenzo  Thomas,  United  States  Army. 
There  was  no  *  special  service  at  Washing 
ton  '  in  the  agreement.  The  general  said 
there  was  but  one  oath  for  a  Union  soldier  to 
take,  and  that  was  the  unconditional  one,  to 
Army  Cap.  sQTVQ  in  any  place  where  he  was  ordered 

We  all  concluded  therefore  to  'take  it  straight.'  After  the  oath, 
which  we  repeated  slowly  after  General  Thomas,  he  called  out, 
'  Now,  three  cheers  for  your  flag,  men  ! '  which  were  heartily  given." 
Much  importance  is  attached  by  professional  soldiers  to  this  outward 
demonstration  of  respect  for  our  country's  flag,  and  certainly 
every  Union  soldier  and  sailor  will  respond  to  the  sentiment 

"  Oft*  with  your  cap  as  the  flag  goes  by  ! 

And  let  the  heart  have  its  say, 
You're  man  enough  for  a  tear  in  your  eye, 
That  you  will  not  wipe  away." 

"Adjutant-General  Thomas  had  a  very  difficult  place  to  fill. 
Secretary  of  War,  Simon  Cameron,  relied  on  him  greatly  in  the 
management  of  military  affairs,  so  suddenly  and  so  vastly  brought 
into  the  most  prominent  of  all  functions  of  the  government.  It 
was  at  that  time  thought  important  that  as  much  eclat  as  possible 
should  be  given  to  the  arrival  of  the  volunteer  regiments  which 
came  to  re-enforce  the  army,  and  the  adjutant-general  was  called 
upon  to  make  addresses,  present  flags,  and  attend  to  the  muster 
ing  exercises,  etc.,  at  the  various  camps  around  the  capital."  (See 
portrait,  page  139.) 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  l6l 

HEADQUARTERS  TKNTH  REGIMENT  R.   I.  Voi.s  , 

CAMP  XEAR  TEXNALLYTOWX,  I).  C.,  June  7,  1862. 
Special  Orders  ^Yo.  ./. 

The  Tenth  Battery  of  Rhode   Island    Light  Artillery,  commanded    by  Capt. 
Edwin  C.  Gallup,  is  hereby  attached  to  this  regiment,  and  will  be  designated  as 

Company  "  L." 

Bv  order  of 

ZEXAS  R.  BLISS, 

BENJAMIN    F.  Tin  RSTON,  Colonel  Commanding, 

hie n tenant  and  Adjutant. 


NOTE.  Maj.  Charles  II.  Merriman,  Capt.  Charles  II.  .Dunham,  Company  D,  and  Adjt.  Ben- 
iamin  F.  Tluirston,  went  out  with  the  regiment,  and  served  with  it  until  June  9th,  but  resigned 
and  returned  home  before  the  officers'  commissions  were  issued. 


The  blanks  in  the  regimental  staff  were  filled,  and  the  officers  mustered  in  as 
follows,  June  9,  1862  : 

ZEXAS  R.  BLISS,  Colonel ;  JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Adjutant ; 

JAMES  SHAW,  JR.,  Lieutenant-Colonel ;  JAMES    II.  ARMIXGTOX,  Quartermaster; 
JACOB  BABBITT,  Major:  EDWARD  K.  GLEZEX,  Sergeant-Major; 

GEORGE  D.  WILCOX,  Surgeon  ;  LYSAXDER    FLAGG,  Quartermaster-Ser- 

ALBERT    G.    SPRAGUE,    Assistant-Sur-  geant; 

geon  :  JAMES  O.  SWAX.  Commissary-Sergeant :, 

A.  HUXTIXGTOX  CLAPP,  Chaplain;         CHARLES  G.  KIXG,  Hospital  Steward. 


HEADQUARTERS.   CAMP   FRIEZE, 

June  10,  1862, 

Captains  of  companies  will  furnish  this  office  requisitions  for  such  clothing  as 
is  necessary  for  the  men,  also  requisition  for  arms  for  each  member  of  the  com 
pany,  and  such  equipments  as  are  required,  in  addition  to  those  on  hand,  to 
complete  the  equipment  of  the  men. 

By  order  of 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

JOHX  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Lieutenant  and  Adjutant. 
21 


62 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Our  uniforms  were  a  bad  fit.  They  did  not 
take  our  measure  and  make  them  to  order. 
The  government  appeared  to  cut  out  clothes 
not  according  to  the  shape  of  the  boy,  but  to 
what  he  was  expected  to  grow  to.  Then  our 
altitude  ranged  from  four  feet  six  to  six  feet 
four.  Private  Maguire  said  he  was  four  foot  ten 
or  ten  foot  four,  he  dforemembered  which. 
"  We  have  received  our  blue  overcoats,  but  mine 
is  a  very  loose  fit.  We  had  to  take  them  just 
as  they  came,  but  can  'swap'  with  some 
other  fellow.  Beside  the  overcoat,  each  of  us 
received  a  woolen  blanket,  a  rubber  blanket, 
some  coarse  shirts  and  drawers,  two  pairs  socks 
or  'foot-gear,'  cap,  one  pair  'pontoons'  or  army 
shoes,  one  knapsack,  one  haversack,  and  one  blue  blouse.  Many 
of  us  are  disappointed  in  the  non-arrival  of  the  promised  invoice 
of  government  trousers  from  Washington.  The  old  ones  we 
brought  from  home  are  getting  pretty  dilapidated.  The  wear  and 
tear  of  camp-life,  with  the  rain,  and  slippery  mud  which  so  quickly 
follows  here,  have  done  their  work,  and  its  getting  a  little  un 
pleasant  and  embarrassing  to  appear  in  -line."  "To  realize  what 
this  southern  mud  is,"  wrote  one  of  the  privates,  "spread  several 
inches  of  tar  all  over  your  back-yard,  and  then  try  to  walk  through 
it  ;  and  when  you  have  succeeded  in  getting  it  well  baked  on  to 
your  'pontoons'  try  to  make  them  presentable  for  dress  parade." 
"  If  you  decide  to  send  anything,  don't  forget  to  put  in  some 
blacking  and  a  brush,  for  we  haven't  half  enough  to  go  round." 


Dressed   Up. 


RHODE    ISLAM)    VOLUNTEERS.  163 

"June  roth.  I  was  handed  your  letter  while  washing  the  mess- 
pans  and  cups.  Two  are  detailed  for  this  duty  each  day.  How 
do  we  like  the  job?  Well,  we  don't  like  it.  I  never  realized  before 
how  much  easier  it  is  to  eat  a  good  dinner  than  to  '  pick  up  '  and 
wash  the  dishes  afterwards.  One  of  the  boys  says  when  he  en 
lists  again  he's  going  to  have  it  all  put  down  in  black  and  white, 
just  what  he's  got  to  do,  and  helping  the  cook  wash  the  dishes 
and  cleaning  up  the  camp  won't  be  in  it. 

"  We  have  little  real  cause  for  complaint.  We  have  good  offi 
cers,  well-known  to  you  all  at  home,  who  treat  the  men  with 
the  kindest  consideration.  Captain  Dyer  is  a  model  commander, 
and  our  company  has  the  right  of  the  line,  he  being  the  senior 
captain.  He  gave  us  quite  a  lively  exercise  the  other  morning, 
in  military  movements.  One  of  the  hardest  things  for  us  is  to  get 
up  early  enough  in  the  morning.  Reveille  is  sounded  at  half  past 
four,  when  we  form  in  line  for  roll-call,  generally  in  a  very  drowsy- 
headed  condition.  The  captain  thought  he'd  wake  us  up  and 
warm  us  up  too.  So  he  started  us  off  on  the  'double-quick,'  a 
very  pretty  movement  when  well  executed  by  a  wide  awake,  well 
disciplined  company  on  a  level  road,  but  our  boys  made  a  very  pretty 
mess  of  it,  half  asleep,  on  a  down-hill  and  dusty  road.  We  hadn't 
gone  far  when  unfortunate  number  one  lost  the  step,  stumbled 
and  fell.  '  Left !  left !  left !  '  shouted  Captain  Dyer  sharply,  stamp 
ing  his  left  foot  on  the  ground,  to  give  force  to  the  word,  '  Get 
the  step  there,  men! '  But  'getting  the  step'  was  an  easier  thing 
for  the  tongue  to  say  than  for  some  awkward  feet  to  do.  Grace 
ful  John  Reynolds,  of  our  mess,  now  lost  the  step,  and,  while 
attempting  to  leap  over  the  back  of  his  file  leader,  was  rolled  over 


164  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

and  over  into  the  ditch  by  the  wayside.  Then  number  three  fol 
lowed,  displaying  his  broad  '  whangs/  alias  army  shoes,  to  the  rising 
sun,  and  so  the  fun  went  on,  till  order  was  at  length  restored,  and 
we  returned  to  camp  as  wide-awake  and  smiling  a  company  as  you 
can  find  in  'Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations.' 

"  It  was  John  Reynolds's  night  for  guard  duty,  and  the  boys 
determined  to  'put  up  a  job  on  him,'  and  you  should  have  seen 
the  merchandise  piled  up  in  his  allotted  place  in  the  tent.  When 
he  came  in  at  a  late  hour,  he  went  stumbling  over  the  pile  of 
rubbish,  and  got  very  angry  at  first,  but  knowing  the  crowd,  he 
concluded  'the  easiest  way's  to  take  it  as  it  comes.'  He  not 
only  took  the  pile  of  rubbish  as  it  came,  but  proceeded  to  throw 
it  in  every  direction,  regardless  of  where  it  hit,  until  he  had 
cleared  out  his  quarters.  In  vain  arose  the  general  protest — he 
satisfied  his  revengeful  feelings — and  composed  himself  to  rest 
with  calm  satisfaction.  It  was  fortunate  there  were  no  broken 
heads." 

Company  K:  "The  boys  have  done  well,  thus  far,  in  not 
getting  caught  'napping'  on  picket  duty.  You  remember  Samuel 
Mitchell.  He  and  Jesse  Eddy,  Zephaniah  Brown,  and  Carlo 
Mauran  belong  to  Company  K.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw  tried 
to  pass  Sam  the  other  night  without  the  countersign.  He  said 
he  must  pass  as  he  was  making  the  rounds  of  the  camp.  But 
Sam  replied,  'No,  sir,  you  can't  pass  that  on  me,'  and  called  the 
corporal  of  the  guard.  Colonel  Bliss  and  Captain  Dyer  have 
also  happened  round  on  the  picket  line,  and  have  tried,  on  some 
pretence  or  other,  to  get  the  boys  to  let  them  examine  their 
muskets.  No  guns  have  been  captured  yet,  however. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  165 

"June  1 2th.  Last  night  was  my  first  experience  *  on  picket.' 
The  night  was  dark,  the  moon  being  off  'on  an  eclipse.'  Our 
squad  marched  down  a  lonesome-looking  road,  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  toward  Fredericktown,  and  attempted  to  force  an  entrance 
into  an  old  school-house  by  the  roadside,  but  the  barred  shutters 
resisted  all  our  efforts.  We  never  felt  so  sorry  for  a  school  lock 
out  before  !  We  marched  further  on,  and  took  the  best  quarters 
we  could  get,  in  a  wheelwright  shop,  opening  to  the  road.  I  was 
on  'the  relief,'  and  had  just  got  fairly  into  an  uncomfortable 
snooze,  when  we  were  all  suddenly  startled  by  an  alarm,  and  or 
dered  by  the  sergeant  to  buckle  on  equipments,  right  shoulder 
arms,  and  double-quick  down  the  road  for  the  picket  line — all  the 
work  of  perhaps  two  or  three  minutes.  Were  we  wide  awake  ? 
Oh,  yes,  some,  if  not  some  scared  !  But  the  trouble  was  soon 
explained.  Some  drunken  soldiers  from  a  neighboring  regiment 
were  attempting  to  pass  our  line  without  the  countersign.  Order 
was  soon  restored,  and  we  were  glad  to  march  back  to  quarters, 
with  all  the  arms  and  legs  we  brought  out.  It  was  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  when  I  found  myself  posted  as  sentinel. 
I  paced  my  beat  regularly,  back  and  forth,  nothing  escaping  my 
keen  vision.  Suddenly  there  came  the  sound  of  approaching 
wheels  ;  when,  with  bayonet  at  the  charge,  and,  summoning  all  my 
voice  to  command,  I  called  a  '  Halt !  '  and  the  driver  instantly 
halted !  He  proved  to  be  a  fishmonger  on  his  early  way  to 
Georgetown.  He  strongly  protested, — and  his  fish  also  strongly 
protested,  against  being  interfered  with — but  we  marched  fish  and 
fisherman  to  the  sergeant  of  the  guard,  as  orders  were  to  let 
nobody  pass  without  the  countersign. 


1 66  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"June  I4th.  There  is  nothing  that  gives  such  delight  as 
boxes  from  home.  When  a  box  arrives  at  camp,  the  eatable 
portion  of  the  contents,  if  sent  to  any  of  our  boys,  is  con 
sidered  the  common  property  of  the  mess.  When  my  box  was 
opened,  therefore,  the  boys  all  gathered  round  me,  and,  as  each 
package  was  taken  out,  they  set  up  a  terrible  yelling  and  howl 
ing,  whether  they  knew  what  was  in  it  or  not.  You  can  guess 
the  peanuts  disappeared  in  double-quick  time,  and,  when  I  came 
to  the  lemons,  there  was  'tremendous  applause  and  cheering  in 
the  galleries  ! '  We  not  only  had  lots  of  fun  over  the  box,  but  it 
was  worth  almost  its  weight  in  gold,  for  it  contained  every 
thing  we  wanted.  The  combined  knife,  fork  and  spoon  which 
can  be  folded  up  and  carried  in  the  pocket  or  haversack,  will  be 
very  useful,  and  will  allow  my  fingers  to  take  a  rest,  as  no  army 
knives  and  forks  have  yet  been  issued.  The  towels,  also,  are  just 
what  I  needed,  as  I've  been  trying  to  make  that  same  poor,  single 
towel  go  for  more  than  a  fortnight  !  You  ought  to  have  seen  me 
skinning  my  fingers  trying  to  wash  it  !  But  relief  has  come  at 
last,  and  the  contrabands  now  come  round  regularly  for  any 
washing  on  hand.  So  I  '  put  mine  out,'  to  the  tune  of  six  cents 
a  piece  for  shirts,  and  so  on.  I  shall  like  the  woolen  shirts  very 
much.  I  was  getting  to  be  truly  'a  shiftless  concern.'  I  never  ate 
any  ham  which  tasted  so  good  as  that  in  the  box;  and  we  should 
have  had  small  pieces  if  the  whole  seventeen  had  staid  to  dinner, 
as  some  of  us  are  'great  feeders.'  We  are  very  much  like  the 
boys  at  the  Thanksgiving  dinner  who  kept  on  eating  as  long  as 
the  supply  lasted.  So  it  was  agreed  that  as  quite  a  squad  was 
going  to  the  Potomac  for  a  swim,  those  who  remained  at  camp 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  167 

should  have  the  ham  ;  and  I  tell  you  we  enjoyed  it,  to  the  last 
hitch  !  The  mustard  you  sent  flavored  it  in  good  shape,  and  will 
also  help  season  the  '  salt  horse,'  as  you  wrote. 

"I  am  going  to  dig  a  hole  right  under  my  knapsack,  and  drop 
the  box  in,  with  the  top  a  little  above  the  ground.  This,  wich  my 
blue  army  overcoat,  will  make  a  good  pillow  at  night.  It  will  not 
make  things  damp  in  the  box,  because  the  soil,  where  the  rain 
does  not  reach  it,  is  very  dry  and  hard." 

Some  home  messages  and  directions  which  came  with  the  box  : 
"We  didn't  want  to  put  in  too  much  so  as  to  make  your  knap 
sack  too  heavy.  The  lemons  and  oranges  are  in,  as  many  as 
could  be.  The  sugar  we  thought  would  be  handy  for  lemonade. 
The  sardines  and  peanuts  will  be  acceptable,  I  guess,  as  well  as 
the  sugar  ham.  That  is  '  mustard '  in  the  two  bottles.  We 
thought  it  would  go  well  with  the  ham,  and  would  season  up  the 
'salt  horse.'  We  put  in  the  woolen  shirts,  beside  two  calico  ones. 
The  little  roll  of  old  cloth  and  glove  fingers  mother  thought 
would  be  useful,  if  your  toes  were  sore  after  marching.  The  box 
of  salve  you  can  use  the  same  as  tallow.  '  Old  Morse's  '  Dockroot  is 
to  keep  your  stomach  in  good  trim,  but  you  are  not  to  use  it 
unless  you  really  need  it.  It  might  have  the  same  effect  upon 
you  that  Brandreth's  pills  had  upon  the  old  lady.  We  should 
want  more  than  your  cap  to  come  home  with  the  regiment.  The 
necktie  and  collars  are  also  in.  The  fancy  pillow  is  filled  with 
feathers  from  the  old  black  hen.  Mother  covered  it  with  dark 
cloth  so  that  it  would  not  appear  soiled  so  soon.  The  padlock, 
which  is  iion  est  in  this  box  shall  be  e pluribus unum  in  the  second. 
The  pocket  inkstand  is  right  down  in  one  corner.  The  paper, 


68 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Letters  from   Home. 


envelopes,  pencils,  pens,  and  jack- 
knife,  all  went  into  the  portfolio. 
There  was  no  room  for  the  shoe- 
brush,  although  we  got  in  a  box 
of  blacking.  We  had  an  idea 
of  putting  in  some  cream-cakes 
with  the  oranges,  but  \vere  afraid 

O  7 

they  would  get  flattened  and  sour. 
In  regard  to  the  tea  mother  says, 
if  you  chew  a  little  while  marching,  you  won't  be  half  so  thirsty." 
This  reminds  the  author  of  a  story  of  the  virtues  of  pennyroyal 
tea,  one  of  the  old-time  remedies.  A  good  old  lady,  in  telling 
her  experience,  said  she  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  trouble  through 
life,  but,  she  continued,  '  I  have  triumphed  over  it  all  with  my 
three  Ps,  'Prayer,  Patience,  and  Pennyroyal!'  : 

In  approving  of  the  presence  of  ladies  at  our  recent  reunions, 
General  Rogers  said  :  "  The  anxiety,  the  suffering,  and  the 
suspense,  endured  by  the  mothers  and  sisters  of  the  soldiers, 
during  the  war,  can  never  be  fitly  measured.  Theirs  was  the  ser 
vice  which  furrowed  the  brow  and  whitened  the  hair." 

June  1 4th.  A  letter  to  the  writer  says  :  "  It  was  college  ex 
hibition  (class-day),  Thursday,  and  the  orator  was  a  student  named 
Addeman,  who  went  out  in  your  regiment.  He  got  a  leave  of 
absence  to  come  on  and  deliver  his  oration,  and  then  went  back 
the  same  night.  His  subject  was  'The  Alliance  of  Scholarship 
and  Patriotism.'  The  audience  cheered  him  like  fun,  I  can  tell 
you,  but  he  looked  kind  o'  gray,  as  though  he  was  smelling  'salt- 
horse,'  in  the  distance  !  " 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  169 

Two  more  home  letters  are  added  for  the  special  entertainment 
of  our  youthful  readers  : 

''Providence,  June  4th.  I  meant  last  night  to  be  up  this 
morning,  at  half  past  four,  and  write  this  letter,  to  show  you  that 
I  could  be  as  smart  as  some  other  folks  !  I  woke  up  and  double- 
quicked  it  out  to  the  clock,  when  behold,  to  my  astonishment,  the 
hands  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  six  ! 

"  I  guess  by  this  time  you'll  like  to  hear  how  we  are  all  flour 
ishing  in  Providence,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  either  if  you'd  like 
to  be  here  yourself,  on  the  identical  old  lounge  sleeping  off  the 
effects  of  'salt-horse'  and  those  beautiful  soft  crackers  !  I  guess 
slippers  would  feel  better  than  'whangs.'  I  suppose  you  are 
as  tough  now  as  a  pitch  knot,  can  eat  anything  or  nothing, 
probably  just  as  it  happens  ;  but  I  mind  that  your  stomach  now 
and  then  requires  a  meal  at  a  neighboring  farm-house.  How 
glorious  it  must  be  to  sleep  sixteen  in  a  bed,  with  now  and  then 
the  variety  of  standing  out  in  a  thunder-storm  to  shoot  secesh. 
There  was  a  letter  in  the  Press  the  other  night  about  your  regi 
ment,  and  it  said  the  men  were  very  much  disappointed  because 
there  was  no  fighting  to  do.  Now  don't  you  have  any  such 
'  gassy '  talk  as  that.  They  may  take  you  at  your  word  and  send 
you  right  on  to  Richmond  !  Do  you  know  of  anybody  in  your 
regiment  that  was  poisoned  in  Baltimore?  There  was  such  a 
rumor  in  last  Saturday  evening's  Press.  It  didn't  give  any  name, 
and  was  enough  to  frighten  anybody  to  death.  I  think  it  was 
a  story  started  by  the  New  York  Tribune  to  sell  the  papers.  I 
guess  if  you  hadn't  got  away  that  night,  you  wouldn't  have  got  to 
the  war  at  all.  We  are  thinking  you  are  sick,  or  out  on  picket 


I  70  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

duty  or  something,  the  whole  time.  The  fact  is,  we  have  learned 
a  lesson  in  intellectual  philosophy,  viz.  :  People  are  fools  to  let 
green  boys  go  to  the  war  !  You  are  a  green  boy  !  Therefore  we 
were  fools  to  let  you  go  !  By  the  way,  I  haven't  seen  any  of  that 
bounty  money  I  was  to  have  for  being  on  your  side  ! 

"We  are  very  glad  to  hear  you  are  having  such  'a  gay  old 
time,'  but  you  mustn't  try  to  make  it  out  any  better  than  it  really 
is.  Your  friend  Sam  Mitchell  said  the  same  thing  in  his  first 
letter,  in  his  second  he  didn't  say  anything  about  it,  and  in  his 
third  he  sent  home  three  sheets  of  blank  paper.  His  father 
didn't  know  what  had  come  over  Sam.  It  now  appears  that  he 
wrote  his  letter  one  evening,  in  his  tent,  and  had  just  finished  it 
when  lights  were  ordered  to  be  put  out.  In  the  dark  he  sent 
home  the  three  sheets  of  blank  paper  by  mistake,  and  kept  all 
the  cream  of  the  correspondence  to  himself !  Write  as  often  as 
you  can.  Enclosed  you  will  find  some  postage  stamps. 

"  Your  friends  went  trouting  together  yesterday  and  brought 
home  some  nice  ones.  We  had  one  for  breakfast  thirteen  or 
fourteen  inches  long.  It  tasted  about  right  I  can  tell  you ; 
but  you  will  pardon  me  for  writing  about  the  delicacies  that  grace 
our  table.  Still,  Mary,  the  cook,  wants  me  to  ask  you  if  you've 
had  any  waffles  since  you  went  away  ?  I  told  her  the  nearest  to 
them  you  had  written  about  was  having  some  Virginia  hoe-cake. 
You  have  enough  to  eat,  now,  don't  you  ?  Our  cherries  are 
ripening  fast.  The  peaches  will  be  ready  for  eating  about  the 
time  of  your  return.  Your  fowls  are  all  in  good  health,  and  the 
chickens  increasing  in  stature.  The  rooster  and  other  friends 
send  love.  So  good-bye,  from  the  folks  at  home." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  171 

The  following  selection  will  conclude  "letters  from  home  :  " 

"  Providence,  June  6th.  Would  you  like  to  know  what  all 
the  girls  are  up  to,  while  all  the  boys,  'beaux,'  I  mean,  are  gone 
off  to  the  war  ?  Well  here  we  are,  trying  to  make  the  best  of  it, 
but  it  is  real  'Old  Maidendom,'  for  it  seems  as  if  almost  every 
body  that  we  knew  has  gone.  When  we  go  anywhere  now,  in 
the  evening,  we  must  get  back  the  best  way  we  can,  three  or  four 
together  perhaps.  Isn't  it  too  bad  ?  I  did  not  have  even  time  to 
bid  you  good-bye,  you  went  off  in  such  a  hurry.  I  started  for  the 
depot  to  see  you  off,  and  arrived  only  to  find,  not  you,  but  a  crowd 
of  people,  and  an  empty  depot.  You  must  have  had  a  delightful 
journey  from  your  description.  Such  nice  accommodations  on  the 
floor;  such  delicate  rations  of  sandwiches  and  sponge-cake  ! 

"I  should  like  to  be  out  to  your  camp,  if  only  for  just  a  few 
minutes,  to  see  how  you  are  living,  and  how  nicely  you  keep  your 
tent  that  you  live  in.  Please  write  me  all  about  your  soldier-life 
if  you  can  find  time.  Tell  me  how  you  get  along  housekeeping  ; 
who  makes  the  fires,  cooks  the  breakfast,  and  fries  the  hot  cakes 
in  the  morning.  Auntie  says  you  must  try  to  take  good  care  of 
yourself,  and  be  careful  and  keep  out  of  danger !  " 

June  i6th,  Lieutenant  DeWolf  wrote  :  "Our  commissarist,  has 
now  become  pretty  well  regulated,  and  we  have  rations  of  pork, 
bacon,  salt  beef,  fresh  beef,  loaf-bread,  hard  bread,  beans,  rice, 
coffee,  tea,  sugar,  vinegar,  and  salt,  with  the  accessories  of  soap 
and  candles.  Gradually  such  conveniences  as  cups,  plates,  knives 
forks  and  spoons  are  being  supplied.  Our  government  pantaloons 
have  also  arrived,  and  we  are  no  longer  obliged  to  take  the  back 
ward  march  at  the  approach  of  visitors." 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Henry  T.  Chace,  of  Company  D, 
declares  that  his  "'ferry-boats,'  alias 
'whangs,'  alias  'scows,'  alias  'tan- 
yards,'  alias  'army  shoes,'  alias  'pon 
toons,'  are  great  institutions  :  Easy 
to  march  in,  easy  to  drill  in,  and 
large  enough  to  sleep  in.  They  are 
so  broad-soled,  that  I  have  taken  one 
off,  and,  putting  a  piece  of  brown 
paper  on  it,  have  improvised  a  satis 
factory  writing-desk." 
PUSS  in  Army  shoes.  Thirty  years  later  an  old  soldier 

said  to  his  wife,  "Mrs.  Sage,  I  should  like  to  know  whose  'ferry 
boats  '  those  are  that  I  stumbled  over  in  the  hall  ?  "  "  Ferry-boats, 
indeed,  sir !  Those  are  my  shoes.  Very  polite  of  you  to  call 
them  ferry-boats  !"  "I  didn't  say  'ferry-boats,'  Mrs.  Sage;  you 
misunderstood  me — 'fairy  boots' — I  said,  my  dear." 

"  It  is  pleasant  to-day,  and  the  boys  feel  accordingly  jolly.  The 
morning  has  been  improved  by  most  of  the  mess  in  cleaning  our 
guns  and  in  writing  home.  I  have  been  out  with  Mason  sweep 
ing  Benefit  street  in  front  of  our  quarters.  Price  and  I  are  now 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  sitting  on  the  ground,  just  above  the 
Athenaeum  tent.  Terms  for  board  in  this  tent  $3.00  per  year, 
commanding  officers  no  charge.  Three  of  the  tents  are  emptied 
of  their  contents,  and  the  proprietors  are  busy  'cleaning  house  !  ' 
Some  of  the  tents  have  spruce  trees  located  near  the  doors,  with 
short  branches  and  bark  off,  which  serve  as  clothes-horses,  and 
blankets,  coats,  and  towels,  are  out  for  an  airing. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  173 

"  Samuel  Dorrance  is  sitting  on  a  pile  of  knapsacks,  overcoats, 
and  blankets,  putting  a  letter  '  D  '  on  his  cap.  Mr.  Vose,  who 
used  to  keep  a  shoe  store  near  father's,  is  now  captain  of  the 
seventh  ward  company,  called  'Company  C.'  ' 

''Wednesday,  June  4th.  At  about  six,  this  evening,  nearly 
three  hundred  of  the  regiment  gathered  together  upon  the  rising 
ground  between  the  streets  of  Companies  B  and  L,  and  formed  in 
hollow  square  to  our  chaplain,  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp,  for  an  introduc 
tory  Divine  service.  It  commenced  with  singing  the  familiar 
hymn,  'All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,'  and  was  followed  by 
the  reading  of  the  twenty-seventh  psalm,  remarks  and  prayer  by 
the  chaplain.  During  the  meeting,  which  was  an  interesting  one, 
we  had  a  slight  shower.  We  are  now  waiting  for  rations.  These 

&  O 

have  improved.  When  they  are  served  we  form  in  line  and 
march  to  the  foot  of  the  street,  and  receive  them  in  turn.  This 
morning  we  had  meat,  bread,  and  coffee,  with  a  dish  of  cold  beans, 
which  was  good  enough  as  long  as  it  lasted,  but  there  wasn't 
enough  to  go  round.  I  didn't  hanker  after  either  the  beans  or 
the  strong  black  coffee.  So,  with  others,  I  took  a  sharp  stick  for 
a  fork,  and  holding  several  slices  of  bread  before  the  fire,  'dry 
toast  for  three,'  soon  crowned  our  efforts.  We  have  found  out 
that  'fingers  were  made  before  forks,'  and  that  knives,  plates,  and 
napkins,  cups,  and  saucers,  are  all  modern  innovations.  When  I 
return  home  you  will  fail  to  elicit  a  single  growl  from  me,  whether 
the  meat  is  cooked  too  much  or  too  little.  Camp-life  is  thus  doing 
us  good  in  making  us  willing  and  obliging. 

"Raining  again  to-night,  and  the  company  streets  are  slippery 
and  disagreeable,  but  we  must  take  our  turn  for  guard  duty. 


174 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Senator  N.  W.  Aldrich. 


Fred  Armington  and  John  Cady  from  our 
'mess,'  N.  W.  Aldrich,  Aborn,  and  New- 
comb,  all  of  Company  D,  with  thirty  five 
from  other  companies,  are  off  to-night  on 
picket  duty,  under  command  of  Lieut. 
Stephen  Thurber,  of  Company  E.  It 
promises  to  be  a  dark  and  rainy  night. 
Aldrich,  the  youthful  volunteer,  marching 
with  his  comrades  to  the  post  of  duty, 
worthy  to  command  and  ready  to  obey,  is  a  fitting  type  of  the 
private  soldier  in  the  War  for  the  Union.  Content  to  serve  in 
an  humble  position  in  times  of  trial  and  danger,  he  was  soon 
called  by  his  native  state  as  her  chosen  representative  at  the 
capital,  which  his  youthful  footsteps  had  hastened  to  defend. 
He  has  long  continued,  as  senior  senator,  to  dignify  and  adorn 
the  high  position  of  official  trust  committed  to  his  charge.  At 
one  of  our  regimental  reunions  Senator  Aldrich  spoke  highly  of 
the  officers  of  the  regiment  and  of  his  own  company,  saying  to 
them  he  owed  some  of  the  first  and  best  lessons  of  his  life.  He 
learned  by  his  service  with  them  that  in  every  sphere  of  life  one 
can  show  the  greatest  amount  of  heroism  by  performing  the 
duties  assigned  to  him  in  a  quiet  and  unobstrusive  manner.  The 
privates  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Regiment  learned  in  their 
brief  campaign  a  lesson  which  should  last  them  through  life — 
that  heroism  is  not  in  brilliant  achievement,  but  in  an  unselfish 
devotion  to  duty,  and  the  performance  of  every  trust  committed 
to  them  in  a  manner  which  shall  receive  the  respect  of  men  and 
the  commendation  of  God. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  I  75 

Resuming,  Chace,  of  Company  D,  says:  "We  'turned  in'  at 
nine  o'clock,  but  did  not  get  to  sleep  until  ten,  listening  to  the 
good  singing  in  another  tent.  We  have  some  fine  voices,  George 
Briggs,  Levi  Burdon,  Albert  Ham,  Ned  Glezen,  and  W.  C.  Bene 
dict  of  the  Ninth."  "The  Sword  of  Bunker  Hill,"  and  "See 
ing  Nellie  Home,"  as  rendered  by  Burdon,  became  very  popular 
with  the  regiment,  and  he  is  still  called  out,  at  our  reunions  to 
sing  them  as  he  used  to  sing  them  in  camp.  "  Last  Sunday  even 
ing,  we  all  enjoyed  very  much.  Several  of  us  sat  in  the  tent-door 
enjoying  the  scene.  The  air  was  still,  the  moon  bright,  the  sky 
blue,  the  great  trees  threw  a  soft  shade,  a  choir,  near  us,  furnished 
sweet  music,  while  we  discoursed  of  home  and  heavenly  themes." 

"I  was  reading  the  other  day,"  says  a  well-known  writer,  "that 
on  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  the  wives  of  the  fishermen, 
whose  husbands  have  gone  far  off  upon  the  deep,  are  in  the  habit 
at  even-tide  of  going  down  to  the  seashore,  and  singing,  as 
female  voices  only  can,  the  first  stanza  of  a  beautiful  hymn ;  after 
they  have  sung  it,  they  listen,  till  they  hear,  borne  by  the  wind 
across  the  desert  sea,  the  second  stanza,  sung  by  their  gallant 
husbands  as  they  are  tossed  by  the  gale  upon  the  waves,  and 
both  are  happy. 

"  Perhaps  if  we  would  listen,  we  too  might  hear  in  this  desert 
world  of  ours,  some  sound,  some  whisper  borne  from  afar,  to 
remind  us  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  home,  and  when  we  sing 
the  hymn  upon  the  shores  of  earth,  perhaps  we  shall  hear  its 
sweet  echo  breaking  in  music  upon  the  sands  of  time,  and  cheer 
ing  the  hearts  of  them  that  are  pilgrims  and  strangers,  and  look 
for  a  city  that  hath  foundations." 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Little  Abe. 


"June  1 5th.  Our  mess  in  Company  B 
has  engaged  a  prepossessing  young  con 
traband  who  boasts  the  name  of  Abraham 
Douglass,  to  do  the  singing  and  wash  the 
dishes,  for  the  modest  salary  of  two  dollars 

.,,    and  a  half  per  month.     We  enjoy  having 

• 

I    him  sing  and  wash  the  dishes  very  much 

B   indeed.      Last  evening  he  sang  for  us  : 

'  De  gospel  ship's  a  sailin' — sailin' — sailin'— 
De   gospel  ship's    a    sailin' — bound    for    Canin's 

happy  sho' ! 
Chorus:     '  Den,  glory,  glorv,  hallelujah! 


"Another  of  his  best  ones  is  : 

'  Dere's  a  light  in  der  winder  fur  thee.  brother, 
Dere'  a  light  in  der  winder  fur  thee!  ' 

"  Each  member  of  the  regiment  was  presented  with  a  small, 
red-covered  hymn  book,  containing  the  old  familiar  hymns,  which 
were  sung  at  religious  services.  In  opening  my  book  the  other 
day  I  found  on  the  inside  cover  the  following  beautiful  lines 
written  by  a  private  in  Stuart's  engineer  regiment,  which  made 
a  deep  impression  on  my  mind  : 

'  "  Halt!   who  goes  there  ?"  my  challenge  cry.  it  rings  along  the  watchful  line; 
"  Relief!  "     I  hear  a  voice  reply — -Advance,  and  give  the  countersign  !  " 
With  bayonet  at  the  charge,  I  wait — The  corporal  gives  the  mystic  spell — 
With  arms  aport,  I  charge  my  mate  :  Then  onward  pass,  and  "  all  is  well !  " 

But  in  my  tent  that  night  awake,  I  ask,  if  in  the  fray  I  fall, 

Can  I  the  mystic  answer  make,  when  th'  angelic  sentries  call  ? 

And  pray  that  Heaven  mav  so  ordain,  where'er  I  go,  what  fate  be  mine, 

Whether  in  trouble,  or  in  pain.  I  still  may  have  "  the  countersign  !  " 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  177 

One  of  the  members  of  another  company  wrote  home  :  "The 
men  have  found  a  remedy  for  poor  rations,  in  songs  which  carry 
the  mind  back  to  the  scenes  of  other  days.  Here,  a  group,  as 
the  evening  twilight  gathers,  sing  the  familiar  hymns  remem 
bered  from  childhood.  Surrounded  by  the  instruments  of  death, 
and  within  reach  of  the  battery's  guns,  you  may  hear  rising 
on  the  air  of  evening,  'Oh,  where  can  rest  be  found,'  '  Pleyel's 
hymn,'  and  'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul.'  Here  a  band  of  students 
revive  the  memories  of  '  Brown,'  with  '  Lauriger  Horatius,'  '  Here's 
to  good  old  Prex.,  drink  him  down,'  while  far  at  the  other  end  of 
the  camp,  from  the  tents  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  come  to  our 
ears  the  strains  of  '  Let  me  kiss  him  for  his  mother.'  '  "  Camp- 
life  has  its  pleasures,  too.  If  you  could  hear  the  manly  chorus 
swelling  up  from  the  group  of  singers  before  yonder  tent,  in  the 
broad  moonlight,  the  mingled  yet  not  discordant  notes  of  violin, 
guitar  and  banjo,  from  different  parts  of  the  encampment,  with 
here  and  there  a  hushed  and  reverent  group,  listening  in  the 
privacy  of  their  own  tent  to  one  who  reads  the  Word  of  God,  you 
would  not  think  that  our  life  is  but  a  weariness." 

"A  few  from  each  company  are  allowed  a  pass  to  Washington 
now  and  then.  The  other  day  a  party  from  Company  B  were 
sauntering  down  Pennsylvania  avenue,  when  a  door  opened  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  there  stood  General  Burnside  ! 
They  all  ran  across  and  claimed  the  privilege  of  shaking  hands 
with  him  on  the  score  of  being  Rhode  Island  soldiers.  He  shook 
hands  cordially  with  them,  and  asked  where  they  were  stationed, 
and  they  left  him  feeling  repaid  by  this  incident  alone  for  the 
journey  to  Washington." 

23 


78 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"Thursday,  June  I2th.  Our  camp  was  enlivened  yesterday  by 
the  presence  of  Maj.  Lewis  Richmond  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  General 
Burnside.  Would  that  the  general  could  run  out  to  see  us." 
A  few  days  after  General  Burnside  made  us  a  flying  visit,  and 
was  received  with  warm  demonstrations  of  honor  and  affection. 


General    Burnside  at  Camp  Frieze. 

A  few  months  later,  on  September  i/th,  the  battle  of  Antietam 
was  fought,  but  sixty  miles  away  from  our  camp,  in  which  Burn- 
side  bore  a  gallant  part.  Young  Adjt.  William  Ide  Brown,  after 
wards  mortally  wounded  before  Richmond,  thus  wrote  home  of 
Burnside  :  "  O,  how  I  love  that  general !  I  would  think  myself 
happy  if  I  could  be  an  orderly  and  follow  him  from  place  to  place. 
How  I  wish  I  knew  him  personally  !  How  proud  I  was  to  have 
him  speak  to  me  on  the  night  of  the  battle  of  Antietam,  where  I 
was  on  duty  at  the  famous  Antietam  bridge  !  There  may  be 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  I  79 

greater  generals  than  Burnside,  but  nowhere  a  more  honest, 
noble,  patriotic  hero  !  "  Young  Brown  was  the  beloved  class 
president  of  the  class  of  1862,  in  Brown  University.  He  fell  only 
a  few  weeks  before  the  final  surrender  at  Appomattox. 

"  Senator  Simmons  and  Dr.  Okie  were  also  in  camp  recently, 
which  reminds  me  of  William  Okie's  experience  on  guard  duty. 
After  a  guard  has  been  on  two  hours  he  is  relieved.  When  the 
guard  hears  the  relief  approach  he  calls  out,  '  Halt !  who  comes 
there?'  Answer,  'Corporal,  with  relief.'  'Advance,  corporal, 
and  give  the  countersign/  Young  Okie  was  on  guard  one  night, 
and,  after  the  answer  from  the  corporal,  instead  of  saying,  'Ad 
vance,  etc.,'  he  said,  '  You  can't  come  too  soon  !  '  Generally  after 
the  two  hours'  duty  the  men  are  glad  to  get  back  to  their  tents. 

"  Ned  Brown  and  Fred  Armington  received  boxes  from  home 
last  evening.  Each  of  us  had  a  cake  from  Brown's  box,  and 
Armington  will  have  his  '  spread '  this  morning.  Later:  I  told 
you  so.  Armington  has  just  passed  the  doughnuts,  and  it's  jolly 
to  be  remembered  by  the  friends  at  home.  As  I  write,  Price  lies 
stretched  out  before  me,  and  distracts  me  by  asking  me  to  draw 
his  army  shoes,  but  I  tell  him  his  'whangs'  are  too  large  to  be 
transferred  to  this  sheet  '  life-size  !  ' 

"The  contrabands  brought  some  nice,  soft  fresh  strawberries 
into  camp  this  morning,  at  twelve  cents  per  quart.  We  sent  out 
for  six  quarts,  and  they  made  a  good  relish,  I  assure  you.  Cost : 
berries,  six  quarts,  seventy-two  cents  ;  milk,  thirty  cents  ;  sugar, 
ten  cents ;  total,  one  dollar  and  twelve  cents,  divided  by  sixteen 
of  us,  leaves  just  seven  cents  for  each  man  to  pay.  Cheap  enough 
isn't  it  ?  Have  some  ?  " 


i8o 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


The  Tennallytown    Gun 


Unexpected  Capture  by  the  Tenth 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 


Cam])  Frieze,  Tennallytown. 


"June  1 8th.  Yesterday  afternoon,"  wrote  the  author,  "Com 
pany  B  was  thrown  into  quite  a  flutter  of  excitement,  by  the 
announcement  that  it  had  been  detailed  for  a  secret  expedition, 
and  was  under  marching  orders.  We  formed  in  line,  as  per 
regimental  orders,  with  equipments  and  muskets,  and  left  camp 
at  two  o'clock,  p.  M.,  accompanied  by  the  officers  of  both  regi 
ments,  with  directions  to  observe  the  strictest  silence  on  the 
march.  What  was  going  to  happen  ?  Had  old  Stonewall  Jackson 
again  ventured  within  our  lines,  and  were  we  to  have  the  glory  of 
surprising  and  capturing  him  ?  Unhappily  it  proved  not,  though 
Stonewall  did  make  a  visit  to  Maryland  a  few  months  later,  and 
his  progress,  and  that  of  the  entire  rebel  army,  was  arrested  only 
at  the  terrific  pass  of  Antietam,  but  sixty  miles  from  camp. 
After  Company  B  had  been  marched  perhaps  two  miles,  it  was 
halted,  and  faced,  as  the  boys  say,  'eyes  right  and  left,'  before  a 
peaceful  and  unpretending  wooden  mansion,  and  awaited  an 
answer  to  the  summons  of  Colonel  Bliss  at  the  front  door.  It 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  l8l 

seems  that  intelligence  had  reached  the  colonel,  through  our  own 
men  out  foraging,  that  a  rebel  cannon  was  concealed  in  the  barn 
of  a  well-known  southern  sympathizer,  and  it  was  considered  not 
improbable  that  he  might  turn  it  some  dark  night  on  our  sleep 
ing  regiments  at  Camp  Frieze.  It  looked  like  a  very  serious 
piece  of  business,  the  boys  thought,  after  hearing  the  news,  and 
visions  of  a  thirty-two,  if  not  a  forty-two-pounder  rose  before  us. 
The  summons  for  its  surrender,  however,  was  met  by  an  indignant 
refusal  from  the  fair  matron  who  answered  the  colonel's  call,  and 
from  the  proprietor  himself,  who  now  appeared  from  a  neighboring 
field.  He  was  making  off,  but  was  induced  to  return  after  a 
short  chase  by  Adjutant  Tobey.  Soon  a  daughter  appeared  on 
the  scene,  fresh  from  school,  and  a  true  'gray,'  and  no  mistake. 
She  loudly  declared  that  they  would  never  give  it  up.  No,  never  ! 
The  choice  being  now  given  them  to  surrender  the  gun,  or  take 
up  a  family  march  back  to  camp,  to  the  tune  of  'we  won't  go 
home  till  morning,'  they  concluded  to  produce  it.  And  lo,  what 
a  disappointment !  Instead  of  a  mighty  forty-two  pounder,  or 
Stonewall  Jackson,  we  beheld  a  small  field  howitzer,  about  two 
feet  long,  such  as  is  used  in  the  field  by  infantry.  It  was  rifled, 
and  carried  a  ball,  weighing  a  pound,  about  a  mile.  But  such 
as  it  was,  it  was  mounted  on  its  carriage  and  trailed  back  to  camp 
by  Company  B,  who  thus  earned  the  honor  of  capturing  the  only 
rebel  cannon  taken  by  the  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Vol 
unteers.  It  was  receipted  for  by  Captain  Dyer,  and  in  due  time 
safely  arrived  in  Providence.  After  many  years,  through  the 
courtesy  of  his  son,  Adjt.-Gen.  Elisha  Dyer,  it  has  been  placed  in 
the  museum  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society." 


1 82  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Resuming  the  narrative  from  Company  D, 
we  read  that  :  "A  little  dancing  contra 
band,  one  of  the  innocent  causes  of  the  war, 
is  now  in  front  of  the  'Athenaeum '  tent, 
blacking  Elisha  Howry's  boots.  At  seven 
this  evening,  we  form  in  line  for  inspection, 
with  equipments,  which  must  be  in  shining 
order.  Every  boot,  button,  belt,  bayonet, 
and  musket,  must  be  polished  as  bright  as 
contraband  Goods.  rubbing  can  make  them .  At  inspection  every 
man  appears  in  line,  with  his  musket  and  equipments,  full  knap 
sack,  canteen,  haversack,  cartridge-box,  etc.,  all  of  which  are 
duly  inspected.  The  blankets  being  strapped  upon  the  knapsacks, 
the  tents  are  supposed  to  be  empty,  and,  of  course,  their  condi 
tion,  as  to  cleanliness  can  be  ascertained  at  a  glance." 

"  One  of  our  first  efforts,"  wrote  Captain  Dyer,  "as  quickly  as 
opportunity  and  'leave  of  absence'  from  camp  would  allow,  was  a 
general  reconnoissance  of  our  surroundings,  to  provide  against  the 
liability  of  being  surprised,  outflanked,  or  attacked  in  the  many 
vulnerable  points  to  which  our  camp  was  exposed,  by  some  raiding 
Jackson  or  Early.  This  duty  was  most  faithfully  performed." 

Resuming,  H.  T.  Chace,  of  Company  D,  wrote  :  "  On  coming 
into  camp  this  morning,  I  noticed  some  very  pretty  evergreen 
boughs,  or  arbors,  in  one  company's  quarters,  with  arched  doors 
and  windows,  all  displaying  excellent  taste.  The  Westerly  com 
pany  have  things  about  right.  The  boys  have  dug  a  well  which 
yields  the  best  water  in  camp.  They  have  their  tables  hand 
somely  protected  by  evergreen  boughs." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


IS 


-  -v/^- 


"  The  orderly  has  just 
appeared  at  the  tent- 
door,  saying,  'Two  men 
of  this  mess  are  wanted 
to  bring  water  for  the 
cook.'  Sergeant  Brown 
and  the  writer  responded 
to  the  call,  and  brought 
several  buckets  of  water 
from  the  spring.  We 
then  helped  peel  the  po 
tatoes,  and  split  some  wood  for  the  fire.  Herman  and  Burdon 
are  also  assisting  Mr.  Burroughs  in  the  cooking  department.  I  am 
on  police  duty  again  to-day,  with  George  Briggs,  to  wash  the 
dishes.  Returning  I  saw  Robert  Paine  in  the  cook's  tent,  picking 
over  beans.  Think  of  it  !  and  we  all  have  to  take  our  turn  ! 
My  box  arrived  this  P.  M.,  and  has  been  opened  to  my  satisfaction 
and  that  of  the  mess.  We  propose  dividing  the  cakes  on  Sunday 
evening.  We  shall  have  Fred  Hedge,  Ned  Brown,  John  Cady, 
William  A.  Harris,  and  Fred  Armington,  participate  in  demolish 
ing  it.  They  are  all  regular  boarders  at  the  'Athenaeum.'  They 
say  'you  can't  have  too  much  cake  for  supper,'  and  if  the  cake 
gives  out,  we  shall  all  relish  the  gingerbread. 

"June  I4th.  To-day  a  small  party  has  gone  to  the  Potomac  to 
bathe,  three  miles  away. 

"June  1 5th.  Was  up  before  sunrise  this  morning,  and  bathed 
at  the  spring  and  went  over  and  admired  the  battery's  new  twelve- 
pounders  before  reveille." 


84 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Reveille,  4.30  A.  M. 


"  Reveille  sounds  at  half  past 
four.  \Ye  tumble  out  for  early 
roll-call,  just  as  we  please,  as  re 
gards  our  costumes.  In  the  ex 
citement  many  of  the  men  come 
half  dressed,  dragging  their  mus 
kets  after  them,  completing  their 
hasty  toilet  after  getting  into  line. 
The  helter-skelter  that  follows  the 
hasty  endeavor  to  get  into  the 
ranks  is  extremely  comical  to  be 
hold.  It  gives  no  time  for  the  adjustment  of  collars,  or  tying  of 
neckties  or  'whangs.'  This  morning  all  our  men  but  one  had 
overcoats  on.  That  one  was  late,  and  not  having  time  to  dress 
at  all,  before  his  name  would  be  called,  he  hastily  wrapped  the 
drapery  of  his  couch,  that  is  an  army  blanket,  about  him,  and 
took  his  position  in  line,  to  our  great  amusement.  Later  this 
morning,  we  marched  over  to  the  quartermaster's  tent,  and  ac 
tually  received  our  blue  army  pants.  Such  a  motley  assembly ! 
Some  with  no  pants  (only  drawers),  some  with  only  three-quarter 
pants,  multitudes  with  dilapidated  pants,  full  of  patches  and  holes, 
and  the  balance  with  blankets  to  cover  them,  for  respectability's 
sake.  Each  man  received  the  pair  first  handed  him,  with  the 
instruction  to  'try  them  on,'  and  if  'no  fit,'  to  change  round  with 
some  other  member  of  the  regiment.  If  any  one  could  not,  after  all, 
succeed  in  finding  a  pair  which  would  answer  the  purpose,  he  could 
return  them  to  the  quartermaster  for  exchange.  We  had  a  good 
deal  of  fun  during  the  operation  of  'trying  on'  and  getting  fitted. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  185 

Thus  our  'infant,'  a  tall  six-footer,  received  a  short  pair,  while 
Halsey  DeWolf,  had  a  pair  which  came  up  to  his  neck.  Fred 
Armington  is  now  hard  at  work  shortening  the  legs  of  his  trousers, 
so  as  not  to  show  the  white  linings. 

"  2  p.  M.  We  had  a  good  dinner  of  beef-soup  and  potatoes, 
with  strawberries  for  dessert.  Potatoes,  thanks  to  our  foragers, 
are  quite  plenty  now.  Seeing  Fred  Hedge  (the  Athenaeum  libra 
rian)  staining  his  hands  picking  over  strawberries,  reminds  me 
of  a  laugh  we  had  at  William  A.  Harris  while  on  the  march  from 
Washington.  He  had  a  new  red  silk  handkerchief  in  his  cap,  and 
the  perspiration  soon  began  to  make  the  color  run,  so  that  as 
he  wiped  his  face  with  it  the  color  was  transferred,  which  gave 
him  a  peculiarly  heated  and  exhausted  appearance.  When  we 
first  noticed  it  we  thought  that  the  march  was  giving  him  '  jessy  ! ' 
We  soon  discovered,  however,  that  he  was  only  being  artificially 
colored,  '  a  la  Indian  !  ' 

"Tuesday,  June  I7th.  Yesterday,  we  had  plenty  of  drill,  and 
only  six  roll-calls.  I  wish  you  could  hear  us,  '  break  ranks,  march  ! ' 
We  just  do  it  altogether,  with  a  will!  This  morning  we  had 
battalion  drill,  as  usual,  carrying  our  muskets  and  equipments. 
Our  dress,  over  the  uniform,  consists  of  a  belt  which  fastens  round 
the  body,  and  which  holds  a  cartridge-box  and  bayonet,  with  a 
cross-belt.  Our  muskets  after  an  hour's  drill  in  the  hot  sun  seem 
a  good  deal  heavier  than  they  did  as  we  proudly  handled  them 
at  first."  "To  relieve  this  difficulty,"  says  the  author,  "a.  belt- 
hook  was  devised,  which  attached  to  the  body-belt  in  such  a  way 
that  when  the  musket  was  at  the  position  of  '  carry,'  its  weight 
could  be  easily  transferred  from  the  arm  to  the  belt-hook. 

24 


1 86 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Belt  and  Belt-Hook. 


It  immediately  became  very  popular,  and 
worked  to  perfection,  until  one  unlucky  day 
as  we  stood  in  line  with  our  muskets  quietly 
resting  on  our  belt-hooks,  the  order  was 
suddenly  given  to  'order,  arms!'  Down 
went  every  other  fellow's  gun  promptly ! 
But  mine  wouldn't  let  go  of  that  plaguy 
belt-hook,  and  was  left  suspended  high  in 
air !  The  captain  reprimanded  me  sharply, 
the  boys  in  the  ranks  smiled  audibly,  and 
all  belt-hooks  were  ordered  off  promptly. 
They  might  afterwards  be  seen  adorning  the 
belts  of  officers,  supporting  their  long  swords,  but  they  no  longer 
supported  the  firelocks  of  privates.  I  was  so  mortified  that  I 
began  to  feel  sorry  that  I'd  come  out  with  the  rest  of  the  boys  to 
help  save  the  capital.  I  felt  almost  as  bad  as  I  did  once  in  a 
spelling-class  at  school.  I  suppose  I  wasn't  paying  then  the  best 
of  attention,  when  suddenly  the  teacher  called  upon  me  to  spell 
the  word.  I  hadn't  any  more  idea  what  the  word  was  than  if  it 
had  been  'belt-hook,'  but  supposing  that  the  next  boy  kindly  in 
tended  to  prompt  me  by  whispering,  'lignum-vitae,'  I  boldly 
pronounced,  and  spelled  it,  until  interrupted  by  shouts  of  laughter 
from  the  school,  in  which  the  teacher  himself  joined.  I  looked  at 
the  other  boy,  and  realized  that  he'd  given  me  away,  for  his  sides 
were  shaking.  He  is  an  old  boy  now,  and  I  forgive  him,  as  I 
hope  to  be  forgiven,  for  perpetrating  some  of  the  same  sort  of 
practical  jokes.  Certainly,  I  can  never  forget  my  experiences 
with  'belt-hooks'  and  'lignum-vitae.' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


87 


"  The  '  grand  rounds  ? ' 
Yes,  well  do  I  remember 
my  first  experience.  I 
was  guard  at  the  west 
of  the  camp,  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill,  when  the 
'grand  rounds'  came 
along.  Captain  Smith 
was  officer  of  the  day, 
and,  of  course,  led  the 
guard.  It  had  been  raining  hard,  and  the  water  was  rushing 
down  the  hill,  so  that  my  tramp  was  through  mud  and  water. 
About  midnight  I  heard  stumbling  footsteps  :  'Halt!  who  goes 
there  ?  '  '  Grand  rounds  ! '  'Advance,  sergeant  of  the  grand 
rounds  and  give  the  countersign  !  '  The  sergeant  spattered  the 
mud,  gave  the  countersign,  and  inquired  the  way  to  the  next 
rounds,  for  it  was  so  dark  that  you  could  hardly  see  him.  The 
captain  stopped,  and  said  '  Chace,  how  do  you  stand  it  ?  '  I  said 
'  first  rate,'  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  He  has  been  on  duty 
every  day,  although  often  very  tired,  and  troubled  with  a  cold. 

"  By  the  way,  we  have  a  man  here  named  Adam.  A  few  min 
utes  ago  some  one  went  by  our  tent  calling  out,  'John,  where's 
Adam  ? '  and  John  Cady  immediately  called  out,  '  Where's  Adam  ? 
Gone  after  Eve ! '  You  would  think  we  needed  an  Eve  if  you 
could  see  the  sleeves  of  my  blouse.  I  cut  them  off,  and  then 
stitched,  basted  and  sewed  the  edges  ;  it  would  puzzle  a  seam 
stress  to  tell  which.  At  this  moment  \ve  are  emptying  Corporal 
Foster's  box  of  ginger  cookies. 


1 88  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Chace  wrote  :  "  Have  just  returned  from 
'dress  parade.'  All  the  companies  march  to  the  parade-ground, 
form  in  two  ranks,  and  face  to  the  front,  sergeants  in  the  rear. 
The  order  is  then  given,  'order,  arms;  parade,  rest.'  At  this 
rest  the  right  foot  is  thrown  to  the  rear  of  the  left,  the  hands 
crossed  in  front  of  the  body,  left  uppermost,  thumbs  crossed,  eyes 
to  the  front,  every  man  to  remain  as  still  as  a  statue,  even  if  a  fly 
or  a  spider  walks  over  his  face.  The  drum-band,  five  fifes  lead 
ing,  followed  by  eight  snare-drums,  then  marches  in  front  of  the 
regiment,  from  right  to  left,  playing  in  common  time,  then 
halts,  about  face,  and  marches  back  quick  time.  '  First  sergeants 
to  the  front  and  centre.'  At  this  command  the  first  sergeants 
pass  to  the  front  of  their  respective  companies,  face  inward, 
and  marching  to  the  centre  of  the  regiment,  take  the  position, 
'front-face.'  The  sergeant  on  the  right,  his  piece  being  at  a  light 
infantry  'shoulder,'  then  salutes,  by  carrying  his  left  arm  across 
the  breast,  and  reports  .to  the  adjutant,  'Company  D  present,  or 
accounted  for.'  Each  sergeant  follows,  reporting  his  company  in 
the  same  manner.  The  adjutant  who  is  standing  opposite  the 
centre  of  the  regiment,  facing  it,  and  in  front  of  the  colonel, 
then  orders,  '  outward  face,  to  your  posts,  march.'  The  sergeants 
return  to  their  posts.  The  .order,  'parade  is  dismissed,'  then  fol 
lows.  At  this  the  commissioned  officers  advance  to  the  front, 
face,  march  to  the  centre  and  report,  the  band  meanwhile,  playing. 
Having  reported,  the  officers  return  by  the  shortest  route  to  their 
companies  and  take  them  out  of  line.  Each  company  is  then 
drilled  by  its  commandant,  presenting  a  lively  spectacle.  At  the 
same  time  another  company  was  going  through  the  movement  of 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


189 


Cooking  Custard. 


1  charge  bayonets  '  about  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  distant.  The  yells 
of  the  men  were  exciting  to 
hear.  After  drilling  some  time 
we  were  again  formed  in  line, 
and  drilled  by  Lieutenant-Col 
onel  Shaw  for  about  twenty 
minutes  very  lively. 

"  Ned  Brown  has  been  cook 
ing  a  nice  custard  in  his  mess- 
pan.  A  pint  of  milk,  two  eggs, 
a  little  nutmeg,  and  watching 
the  fire  for  ten  minutes,  made 
a  cheap  and  luxurious  dish  for  a  soldier.  I  am  now  sitting  on  a 
box  in  front  of  our  tent,  and  can  see  down  Benefit  street  beyond 
the  cook's  tent.  It  is  amusing  to  see  some  of  the  boys  steering 
for  their  tents,  with  bread  in  one  hand  and  meat  in  the  other,  re 
membering  at  the  same  time,  how  they  lived  at  home. 

''Yesterday,  the  Zouaves,  Captain  Duckworth,  received  a  big 
pile  of  good  things,  not  the  least  acceptable  of  which,  was  a  foot 
ball.  Sergeants  Brown  and  Cady  went  on  pass  to  Washington 
yesterday.  They  returned  in  time  for  *  retreat '  which  beats  at 
seven  p.  M.  They  brought  along  a  two-gallon  coffee  pot,  and 
1  K.  D.'  had  a  blacking  box  and  brush.  Ned  also  brought  coffee 
and  sugar,  and  we  had  some  coffee  in  the  evening  that  beat  any 
that  we  have  had  since  leaving  home.  We  have  not  as  yet  been 
served  with  either  mess-pans,  knives  or  forks.  What  we  have  in 
that  line  has  been  'foraged.'  My  silver  spoon,  for  which  I  paid 


190  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

four  cents,  the  other  day  in  Washington,  disappeared  yesterday. 
I  have  made  two  trips  from  camp,  recently,  one  to  the  Potomac, 
the  iQth,  and  one  to  Washington,  the  2Oth.  In  the  former 
tramp,  after  crossing  Chain  Bridge,  we  proceeded  along  a  steep, 
rocky  road,  about  half  a  mile,  when  we  came  to  Fort  Marcy,  gar 
risoned  by  two  companies  of  a  New  York  artillery  regiment.  The 
fort  mounts  thirteen  guns  (twenty-four-pound  Parrott,  six-pound 
field  pieces,  and  twelve-pound  brass  howitzers).  The  fort  over 
looks  the  Potomac.  From  Fort  Marcy  we  could  see  encamp 
ments  in  the  distance,  and  further  on  in  Virginia,  Fort  Ethan 
Allen,  mounting  twenty-five  guns.  Returning  to  camp,  we  reported 
in  good  season,  tired  out.  The  next  day  being  my  chance  to  go 
to  Washington,  I  snapped  up  the  offer,  and,  borrowing  a  fresh 
collar,  and  brushing  my  hair  and  boots,  was  soon  ready. 

"  Brock  Mathewson,  2d,  was  the  corporal,  and  William  A. 
Harris  was  the  other  private.  We  started  about  8. 1 5  and  walked  to 
Georgetown.  On  reaching  Georgetown  heights  a  beautiful  pano 
rama  opened  before  ns.  Arlington  heights,  the  old  residence  of 
General  Lee,  Fort  Corcoran,  the  Potomac,  Long  Bridge,  the 
Capitol  and  Washington  Monument.  We  took  the  stage  for 
Washington,  and  pulled  the  strap  in  front  of  the  White  House." 
Then  follows  an  interesting  description  of  the  places  visited : 
the  White  House,  Willard's  Hotel,  Patent  Office  and  the  Capitol. 
"The  bakery  in  the  basement  bakes  35,000  loaves  daily  for  the 
soldiers.  Returning  to  camp  via  Georgetown,  a  carriage  passed,  and 
we  exchanged  salutes  with  Secretary  of  War  Edwin  M.  Stanton. 
Following  was  a  gentleman  on  horseback,  who  immediately  lifted 
his  hat  to  us,  and  we  recognized  President  Lincoln."  He  was 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


The  Girls  We  Left  Behind  Us. 


greatly  beloved  by  the  soldiers, 
and  more  than  once  interfered 
with  the  military  powers  to  par 
don  some  youthful  deserter,  or 
sentry  who  had  fallen  asleep  at 
his  post. 

"  My  business  in  Washington," 
says  a  well  known  official,  "  was  to 
secure  a  pardon  for  a  young  sol 
dier  who  had  deserted  under  rather 
peculiar  circumstances.  When  he 
enlisted  he  was  under  engagement 
to  a  young  girl,  and  went  to  the 
front  very  certain  of  her  faithful 
ness,  as  a  young  man  should  be,  and  he  made  a  most  excellent 
soldier,  and  felt  that  '  she '  would  be  proud  of  him.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  young  girl  being  exceptionally  attractive,  and  the 
war  unexpectedly  protracted,  had  another  lover,  whom  she  had 
discarded  for  the  young  volunteer,  for  which  the  stay-at-home 
hated  the  accepted  soldier  with  the  utmost  cordiality.  Taking 
advantage  of  his  long  absence  he  began  to  renew  his  suit  with 
such  vehemence,  that  a  rumor  reached  the  young  man  at  the 
front  that  his  love  had  gone  over  to  the  enemy.  He  immediately 
applied  for  a  furlough,  which  was  refused,  and,  half  mad  and  reck 
less  of  consequences,  he  deserted  his  post  and  started  for  home. 
He  found  the  information  he  had  received  partially  true,  but  he 
had  arrived  in  time.  He  married  the  girl,  but  was  immediately 
arrested  as  a  deserter,  tried,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

shot.  After  patiently  listening  to  the  recital,  and  inquiring  as  to 
his  previous  good  character,  the  President  at  once  signed  the 
pardon,  saying  :  '  I  want  to  punish  the  young  man  ;  probably  in 
less  than  a  year  he  will  wish  I  had  withheld  the  pardon.  We 
can't  tell  though,  I  suppose  when  I  was  a  young  man  I  should 
have  done  the  same  fool  thing  myself !  ' 

If  ever  a  man  was  fairly  tested,  Lincoln  was.  General  Long- 
street,  of  the  South,  calls  him  "the  greatest  man  of  rebellious 
times  ;  the  one  matchless  among  forty  millions  for  the  peculiar 
difficulties  of  the  period."  There  was  no  lack  of  resistance,  nor  of 
ridicule  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  one  of  the  most  touching 
tributes  at  his  death  was  the  manly  recantation  of  the  London 
Punch,  which  for  four  long  years  had  pursued  him  with  its 
slanders : 

"  Beside  this  corpse  that  bears  for  winding  sheet 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  he  lived  to  rear  anew, 
Between  the  mourners  at  the  head  and  feet, 
Say,  scurrile  jester,  is  there  room  for  you? 

Yes,  he  had  lived  to  shame  me  from  my  sneer, 

To  lame  my  pencil,  and  confute  my  pen, 
To  make  me  own  this  kind  of  princes  peer, 

This  rail-splitter,  a  true-born  king  of  men  !  " 

Resuming,  H.  T.  Chace  wrote  :  "June  2ist.  Arriving  in  camp 
on  our  return  from  Washington,  we  found  rumors  current  that  we 
are  under  marching  orders.  If  we  move  it  will  be  to  Virginia. 
There  is  another  report  that  we  are  to  be  sent  to  the  front. 
While  drilling,  to-day,  I  saw  a  string  of  army  mules  and  wagons 
for  the  Fourteenth  Infantry,  passing  down  the  road." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


'93 


Chaplain  A.  H.  Clapp. 


Captain  Greene  wrote  :  "  Paymaster 
Jabez  C.  Knight  made  us  a  very  ac 
ceptable  visit  during  the  week  just 
past,  and  paid  over  the  long  talked  of 
bounty  money." 

H.  T.  Chace,  wrote  the  same  day  : 
"A  battalion  of  regulars  is  now  passing 
by.  I  have  no  idea  General  McClellan 
will  be  defeated  on  the  Peninsula,  and 
rather  hope  that  we  may  have  a  chance 
to  assist  in  crushing  the  rebellion. 

"  The  chaplain  has  just  looked  in  and  given  us  a  pleasant  word. 
We  like  him."  "We  are  greatly  attached  to  our  chaplain,"  wrote 
Capt.  A.  Crawford  Greene.  "He  is  in  every  way  fitted  for  the 
duties  of  his  office.  He  is  daily  among  the  sick,  and  among  the 
soldiers  generally,  speaking  an  encouraging  word  to  all.  He  holds 
services  every  night,  and  on  the  Sabbath  services  at  eleven  A.  M. 
and  seven  p.  M."  In  his  report  to  the  governor  of  Rhode  Island, 
Colonel  Shaw  said  :  "The  regiment  was  particularly  fortunate  in 
its  chaplain,  Rev.  A.  Huntington  Clapp,  the  honored  pastor  of  the 
Beneficent  Congregational  Church  in  Providence.  He  was  sin 
gularly  qualified  for  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  devoted  himself 
with  unremitting  fidelity  to  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  men."  Indeed,  Sir  Walter  Scott's  description  of  Father 
Clement  might  well  be  applied  to  our  beloved  chaplain,  "  You  will 
think  of  him  as  the  best  and  kindest  man  in  the  world,  with  a 
comfort  for  every  man's  grief,  a  counsel  for  every  man's  difficulty, 
the  rich  man's  surest  guide,  and  the  poor  man's  best  friend." 

25 


194 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Major  Babbitt. 


Capt.  A.  Crawford  Greene,  wrote 
June  2  ist  :  "Maj.  Jacob  Babbitt  has  ar 
rived,  and  commenced  his  duties.  Our 
pickets  brought  in  a  man  this  morning 
who  seems  wonderfully  frightened.  He 
gives  no  satisfactory  excuse  for  being  in 
the  road.  He  cocked  his  rifle  when  about 
to  be  taken,  but  one  of  our  pickets  ar 
rested  him  in  time  to  prevent  the  dis 
charge.  We  have  every  indication  judg 
ing  from  preparatory  orders  that  we  are  to  leave  Camp  Frieze, 
and  pitch  our  tents,  the  God  of  battles  only  knows  where.  We 
hear  it  rumored  that  we  are  to  go  to  Cloud's  Mills,  Va.,  near 
Alexandria.  It  is  also  reported  that  we  of  the  Tenth  are  soon  to 
receive  rifled  muskets  similar  to  those  of  the  Ninth.  We  have 
just  received  orders  to  cook  two  days'  rations,  which  is  another 
evidence  that  we  are  to  march.  The  Tenth  Battery  has  already 
started  for  Cloud's  Mills,  via  Washington.  Our  hospital  exhibits 
this  morning  about  the  same  number  (say  seventy-eight)  of  in 
mates  who  are  comfortably  sick.  None  are  thought  to  be  in  a 
dangerous  state.  Our  advantages  for  company  and  battalion 
drill  have  been  extremely  limited  at  Camp  Frieze,  and  our  hope 
is  that  we  may  find  our  new  camp  better  adapted  for  general 
instruction.  There  seems  to  be  an  unusual  movement  of  troops 
about  here,  and  the  supposition  is  that  an  important  engagement  is 
about  to  take  place.  We  notice  that  most  of  the  regiments  about 
us  are  packed  up,  with  knapsacks  on,  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's 
notice.  Our  men  appear  ready  for  whatever  awaits  them." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


'95 


Scene  in    Hospita 


SCENE  IN  HOS 
PITAL. 

Regimental 
surgeon  to  pa 
tient  : 

"You've  got  a 
bad  cold,  and  a 
fever,  sir.  Have 
you  been  in  a 
draught  ?  " 

Patient  : 

"  Drafted,  no, 
sir!  They  didn't 
draft  me.  I  was 

darned  fool  enough  to  enlist  of  my  own  free  will !     I  thought  the 
war  was  about  over,  and  if  I  didn't  hurry  up  I  should  get  left !  " 

"A  few  days  ago,"  wrote  Chace,  "  a  soldier  went  to  the  surgeon's 
tent  with  a  sore  hand.  Seeing  that  the  trouble  arose  chiefly  from 
a  neglect  of  cleanliness,  Dr.  Wilcox  wrote  a  prescription,  and  sent 
the  man  with  it  to  the  tent  where  they  are  prepared.  The  direc 
tions  were:  'Four  drops  in  a  basin  of  water,  and  wash  the 
hands  in  the  mixture,  the  operation  to  be  repeated  four  times  a 
day.'  The  joke  was  that  the  vial  from  which  he  took  the  drops 
contained  nothing  but  pure  water.  It  is  needless  to  add  the  sores 
disappeared.  Another  man  went  to  the  doctor,  who  he  saw  was 
simply  and  purely  homesick.  He  received  for  his  complaint  a 
dose  of  sugar  of  milk,  and  when  it  leaked  out,  he  also  recovered. 
The  general  health  of  the  regiment  is  very  good." 


196 


TIIK    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Prig. -Gen.  Wadsworth. 


"  Saturday,  June  2ist.  General  orders 
number  19  were  read  to  the  regiment. 

"June  25th.  We  expect  to  be  roused 
at  two  o'clock  to-morrow  morning  for  a 
march.  Our  camp  is  a  scene  of  bustling, 
stirring  activity  to-night.  The  reflec 
tion  on  the  trees  of  the  grove  from  a 
fire  in  a  neighboring  street  is  beautiful. 
Tattoo  beats  earlier  than  usual,  and 
reveille  at  two  o'clock  A.  M." 


WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON'  CITY,  D.  C., 

June  24,  1862. 

ORDKRED,  That  all  applications  for  passes  and  permits  for  persons  or  prop 
erty  within  the  lines  of  the  United  States  forces  shall  hereafter  be  made  to 
Brigadier-General  Wadsworth,  Military  Governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  be  subject  to  such  terms  and  conditions  as  he  may  prescribe. 

Signed,  EDWIN    M.    STANTOX. 

Secretary  of  State. 


General  Order*  JVo.  i. 


HEADQUARTERS   RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS, 

WASHINGTON,  June  24,  1862. 

1.  Pursuant    to    instructions    from    the    War  Department,    the    undersigned 
hereby  assumes  the   command  of  all   the  forces  in  and  about  the  City  of  Wash 
ington,  except  such   as   may  be  required  by  Brigadier-General  Wadsworth,  for 
purposes  set  forth  in  the  instructions  referred  to. 

2.  Such  of  these  troops  as  are  north  of  the  Potomac  will  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  move  at  a  moment's  warning. 

Signed,  L.    D.   STURGIS, 

Brig.- Gen.  U.   S.  Voh. 

NOTE.     Rri^.-Gen.  Jaincs   S.  Wadsworth,  a   most  worthy   and   intrepid  officer,  was   mortally 
wounded  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  6,  1864. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  1 97 

HEADQJ/ARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I    VOLS., 

CAMP  FRIEZE,  June  20,  1862. 
General  Orders  +Vo.  79. 

For  the  better  enforcement  of  that  discipline  so  essential  to  the  health,  com 
fort,  and  soldierly  bearing  of  the  members  of  this  regiment,  the  following  orders 
and  extracts  from  the  Army  Regulations  are  hereby  promulgated  : 

I.  Captains  will  cause  the  men  of  their  companies  to  be  numbered  in  a  regu 
lar  series,  including    the    non-commissioned  officers,  and  divided  into  squads, 
each  to  be  put  under  the  charge  of  a  non-commissioned  officer. 

II.  The  utmost  attention  will   be   paid  by  commanders  of  companies,  to  the 
cleanliness  of  the  men,  as  to  their  person,  clothing,  arms,  accoutrements  and 
equipments,  also  their  quarters  or  tents.     Every  man  will  be  required  to  bathe 
the  whole  body  at  least  twice  a  week.     The  hair  to  be   kept  short,   and   beard 
neatly  trimmed. 

III.  The  knapsack  of  each  man  will  be  placed  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  around 
the  outer  circle  of  the  tent,  packed  and  ready  to  be  slung.     The  overcoat  neatly 
folded  inside  out,  and  placed  on  the  knapsack.     Boots  well  cleaned. 

IV.  Dirty  clothes  will  be  kept  in  an  appropriate  part  of  the  knapsack.     No 
article  of  any  kind  will  be  put  under  the  bedding. 

V.  Cooking  and  mess  utensils  will  be  cleansed  immediately  after  using,  and 
neatly  arranged  in  their  proper  places. 

VI.  Non-commissioned   officers   in   command  of  squads,  will  be   held  more 
immediately  responsible  that  their  men  observe  what  is  prescribed  above.     That 
they  wash  their  hands  and  faces  daily;  that  they  brush  or  comb  their  heads  ;  that 
those  who  are  to  go  ou  duty  put  their  arms,  accoutrements,  dress,  etc.,  in  the 
best  order,  and  that  such  as  have  permission  to  pass  the  chain  of  sentinels,  are 
in  the  dress  that  may  be  ordered. 

VII.  When  belts  are  given  to  a  soldier,  the  captain  will  see  that  they  are 
properly  fitted  to  the  body,  and  it  is  forbidden  to  cut  any  without  his  sanction. 

VIII.  Cartridge  boxes  and  bayonet  scabbards  will  be  polished  with  blacking. 

IX.  Arms  shall  not  be  kept  loaded  in  the  tents,  or  when  men  are  off  duty, 
except  by  special  orders. 

X.  Company  officers  must  visit  the  kitchen  daily,  and  inspect  the  kettles, 
and  at  all  times  carefully  attend  to  the  messing  and  economy  of  their  respective 


198  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

commands.  Soup  must  be  boiled  at  least  five  hours,  and  vegetables  always 
cooked  sufficiently  to  be  perfectly  soft  and  digestible.  These  duties  are  of  the 
utmost  importance  and  must  not  be  neglected. 

XI.  Courtesy  among  military  men  is  indispensable  to  discipline.     Respect 
to  superiors  will  not  be  confined  to  obedience  on  duty,  but  will  be  extended  to 
all  occasions.     It  is  always  the  duty  of  the   inferior   to  accost  or  offer  first  the 
customary  salutation,  and  of  the  superior  to  return  such  complimentary  notice. 

XII.  When  a  soldier  without  arms,  or  side  arms  only,  meets  an  officer,  he  is 
to  raise  his  hand  to  the  right  side  of  the  visor  of  the   cap,  palm   to   the   front, 
elbow  raised  as  high  as  the  shoulder,  looking  at  the  same  time   in   a   respectful 
and  soldier-like   manner   to   the  officer,  who  will  return  the  compliment  thus 
offered. 

XIII.  A  non-commissioned  officer  or  soldier  being  seated,  and  without  par 
ticular  occupation,  will  rise  on  the  approach  of  an  officer,  and  make  the  custom 
ary  salutation.     If  standing,  he  will  turn  towards  the  officer  for  the  same  pur 
pose.     If  the  parties  remain  in  the  same  place  or  on   the  same   ground,  such 
compliments  need  not  be  repeated. 

XIV.  All  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  visiting  officers'  quarters 
will  stand  at  "Attention,"  and  remain  uncovered. 

Bv  order  of 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Adjutant. 

HEADQUARTERS  STURGIS'S  BRIGADE, 
General  Order*  No.  18.  WASHINGTON,  June  20,  i86j. 

I.  All   commands   in   this  brigade,  excepting  the  Fifty-ninth  Regiment  New 
York  Volunteers,  will  be  held  in  immediate  readiness  for  marching  orders. 

II.  The  commanding  officer  of  each   command  will  notify  the  brigade  quar 
termaster,    Lieut.  Nelson  Plato,    of  the  number  of  wagons  requisite    for    the 

moving  of  his  command. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HENRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  1 99 

PARTING     SKETCH     OF     CAMP     FRIEZE. 
By  HENRY  T.  CIIACK,  Company  D,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 


Service  Ground,   Tenth    Regiment. 

"•AAAAA 


COMPANY  u,     '  x       '  x        '  x       '  x       7  x 
Captain  Dyer. 


COMPANY  K, 
Captain    Low. 


AAAA 


— •    AAAAA 


Captain  Greene. 

COMPANY  II, 
Capt.  Duckwortli 

COMPANY  E, 
Captain  Cady. 

COMPANY  I, 
Captain  Hale. 


AAAAA 
AAAAA 
AAAA 

€™A'   AAAA 
AAAA 
AAAAA 
AAAAA 


Captain  Taber. 

COMPANY  C, 
Captain  Vose. 

COMPANY  F, 
Captain  Harris. 

COMPANY  D,    /\ 
Capt.  Srnitl 


«  £  S          =  ? 

I     g      1    i     ? 

I  !  II  I 


2          r 


NINTH     REGIMENT. 


2OO 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Canteen. 


General  Orders  No.  21. 


"  We  are  about  to  start  for  Cloud's  Mills, 
near  Alexandria,"  wrote  one  of  the  men. 
"Already  our  noble  battery  has  thundered 
off,  and  we  shall  soon  follow  them,  leaving 
our  familiar  avenues,  our  evergreen  bovvers 
and  shady  resorts  for  chatting  and  smoking, 
to  the  spiders  and  wood-ticks,  the  tree  toads 
and  fire-flies,  whose  domain  we  have  invaded. 
We  may  find  in  some  respects  a  better, 
but  surely  not  a  more  picturesque  camping 
ground." 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 
CAMP  FRIEZE,  June  25,  1862. 


I.  The  regiment  will  move  from  its  present  camp  to-morrow  morning. 

II.  Knapsacks   must   be  packed  and   marked,  and  canteens   and  haversacks 
filled,  and  all  provisions  and  articles  on  hand   in   the   cook-tent  and  not  imme 
diately  required,  packed  in  the  wagons  by  evening. 

III.  Reveille   will   sound  at  two  o'clock  A.  M.,  to-morrow.     Company  cooks 
will  prepare  breakfast  and  hot  coffee,  and  serve  them  out  at  that  time. 

IV.  The  regiment  must  then  be  ready  to  strike  tents  and  march. 

By  order  of 


JOHN  F.  TOBEY, 

Adjutant. 


ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Colonel  Comma)iding. 


Packing  knapsacks  meant  compressing  all  our  housekeeping 
into  a  space  so  that  it  could  be  carried  on  our  backs.  Now  we 
had  so  many  things  on  hand — good  to  eat  and  to  wear — that  it 
became  very  hard  to  decide  which  to  take  and  which  to  leave. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


201 


Knapsack. 


"June  26th.  As  per  orders,"  wrote 
the  author,  "  we  broke  up  our  old 
camp  shortly  after  midnight  this 
morning.  At  two  o'clock  came  the 
rattling  '  rap-a-tap-tap  '  of  the  reveille. 
It  was  a  grand  sight,  as  the  beautiful 
grove  with  its  stately  oaks  and  tented 
avenues  was  suddenly  illuminated 
with  blazing  bonfires,  as  if  by  magic. 
The  long  rows  of  glistening  bayonets 
shone  up  and  down  the  camp,  the 
sparks  filled  the  air  and  shot  upward  to  the  sky  ;  which  with 
the  falling  tents,  the  men  hurrying  to  and  fro,  with  shouts  and 
laughter,  and  the  army  wagons  rumbling  off,  full  of  stores  and 
baggage,  produced  a  scene  of  rare  enchantment.  After  roll-call 
we  were  ordered  to  pack  knapsacks  and  be  ready  to  march  at 
daylight.  It  is  astonishing  how  heavy  a  knapsack  gets  on  the 
march,  even  if  there  isn't  much  in  it.  The  knapsack  opens  like  a 
carpet  bag,  with  a  great  pocket  in  one  side,  and  a  loose  flap  with 
straps  on  the  other.  It  is  strapped  to  the  back  by  a  novel 
arrangement  of  straps  and  buckles.  Some  stuffed  everything  into 
their  knapsacks  regardless  of  the  weight.  One  of  them  contained 
the  following  articles:  'Two  pairs  of  drawers,  a  pair  of  thick 
boots,  four  pairs  of  stockings,  four  flannel  shirts,  a  blue  blouse,  a 
looking-glass,  a  brush  and  comb,  a  razor,  razor  strop  and  brush, 
a  box  of  blacking  and  a  blacking  brush,  a  can  of  preserves,  a  bottle 
of  pain-killer,  and  cough  mixture,  a  small  bag  of  sugar,  a  piece  of 
chalk,  several  towels,  a  Bible,  besides  postage  stamps  and  writing 
20 


2O2 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Haversack. 


materials.  On  top  of  the  knapsack  was 
stuffed  a  double  woolen  blanket  and  a  rubber 
one.'  Fortunately,  there  was  extra  wagon - 
room,  and  the  men  were  allowed  to  pile  in 
their  knapsacks,  instead  of  strapping  them 
on  their  backs." 

"  We  left  Camp  Frieze,"  wrote  H.  T.  Chace, 
"  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  with  three 
rousing  cheers  and  a  Narragansett  !  The 
regiment  stepped  off  at  a  lively  gait  in  the 
fresh  morning  air.  We  carry  muskets,  haver 
sacks  for  rations  (mine  was  supplied  with 
lemons) ;  canteens  (mine  was  filled  with  tea),  and  cartridge  boxes, 
with  ten  and  twenty  rounds  of  ammunition.  Our  rations  were 
served  last  evening  and  consist  of  beef  and  hard-tack." 

Says  Lieutenant  Phillips  :  "  Our  route  of  march  lay  through 
Washington,  where  General  Scott's  fine  residence  was  pointed  out. 
As  we  approached  Willard's  Hotel  Colonel  Bliss  requested  us  to 
strike  up  'John  Brown  ; '  a  thousand  voices  responded,  the  ladies 
thronged  the  balconies,  and,  recognizing  the  colonel,  they  waved 
their  best  wishes,  as  we  went  marching  on."  Between  nine  and 
ten  the  regiment  passed  over  Long  Bridge,  making  the  old 
wooden  structure  shake  with  its  measured  tread.  Tramp,  tramp, 
tramp,  how  many  thousands  crossed  this  'bridge  of  sighs  '  never 
to  return  !  The  day  was  oppressively  hot,  as  we  tramped  on,  past 
rifle-pits,  fortifications  and  earthworks.  We  hadn't  been  in  'ole 
Virginia '  an  hour  before  we  realized  that  there  wasn't  so  much 
fun  in  it  after  all.  We  marched,  and  marched,  and  marched  till 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 

we  reached  Alexandria.  Af 
ter  a  further  tramp  of  several 
miles,  we  finally  halted  about 
two  o'clock  P.  M.,  on  a  vast, 
elevated  plain,  under  the  guns 
of  Fort  Ward,  near  Fairfax 
Seminary.  A  man  who  lives 
here  told  me  that  we  marched 
twelve  miles  this  side  of  Long 
Bridge,or  twenty  miles  in  all." 
Captain  Hale,  Company  I, 
wrote,  "That  the  length  of 
the  march  had  been  variously 
estimated,  according  to  the 
length  of  limb  and  strength  of  muscle  of  those  who  participated, 
ranging  from  eighteen  miles  (about  the  actual  distance),  to  thirty 
or  forty ;  while  Corporal  Stump  declares  that  he  must  have 
traveled  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  !  Somebody  asked 
him  on  the  road  what  regiment  it  was,  and  he  promptly  responded, 
'  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  ! '  An  old  soldier 
wrote  home  after  such  a  tramp,  "I'm  all  right  except  the  dog- 
gorned  blisters  on  my  feet,  and  I  hope  these  few  lines  will  find  you 
enjoying  the  same  blessings  !  "  Surely,  the  monks  who  used  to 
put  peas  in  their  shoes,  as  a  penance,  did  not  suffer  more  than 
some  of  us  did  on  that  march.  I  recall  the  celerity  with  which  I 
kicked  off  my  "whangs,"  and  getting  a  refreshing  drink  of  cold 
water  from  the  well  at  Fort  Ward,  I  dropped  on  the  ground  and 
dropped  off  to  sleep  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 


Cooling  Off. 


204 


THE    TENTH     REGIMENT 


We  were  somewhat 
rudely  awakened  to 
ward  sunset  by  the  or 
ders  to  "pitch  tents," 
which  we  soon  accom 
plished  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  the  officers. 
Hard-tack  and  coffee 
were  then  served  for 
supper,  and  didn't  they 
go  good,  particularly  the  hot  coffee  from  the  old  iron  kettles  ; 

"  The  old  coffee  kettles,  the  iron  bound  kettles, 
The  old  coffee  kettles  that  hung  on  a  pole." 

"The  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,"  wrote  H.  T. 
Chace,  "came  into  camp  to-night  too  late  to  pitch  tents  till  morn 
ing.  Some  of  them  came  over  to  our  tent,  tired  out  and  hungry. 
Fortunately  our  canteens  had  just  been  filled,  and  they  speedily 
emptied  them  "  What  hospitality  ever  equaled  that  of  comrades 
in  the  days  when  "we  drank  from  the  same  canteen  !  "  How  we 
all  slept  that  night  !  "  Phat  a  blessing,"  said  Pat,  "that  noight 
niver  comes  in  till  late  in  the  day,  when  yer  all  toired  out,  and 
couldn't  march  no  more,  anyhow,  at  all,  at  all,  not  even  if  it  was 
mornin  !  "  The  morning  dawned  at  length  and  found  us  a  good 
deal  refreshed,  but  somewhat  stiff  and  sore.  It  proved  to  be 
another  scorching  day,  "with  a  sky  of  brass,  an  earth  of  ashes, 
and  the  air  of  a  furnace."  Captain  Hale  wrote  home:  "To  dis 
tinguish  it  from  our  last  camp,  'Camp  Frieze,' we  designated  it 
*  Camp  Scorch,'  although  no  special  order  was  issued  to  that  effect. 


2O6  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

I  should  judge  from  appearances  that  this  particular  portion 
of  the  sacred  soil  has  undergone  the  effect  of  the  last  great  con 
flagration.  I  was  about  to  say,  prematurely,  but  more  properly, 
in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  Barren  desolation  marks  it 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  and  Corporal  Stump,  after  scouring 
the  plain  with  a  critical  eye,  remarked,  'that  the  most  nimble  of 
grasshoppers  could  not  cross  it  unless  he  carried  three  days'  rations 
on  his  back.'  The  country  has  been  even  stripped  of  its  fences 
and  hedges  to  remove  every  cover  for  the  enemy,  and  everything 
has  a  grim,  ravaged  look."  Our  camp  became  generally  known  as 
"Camp  Misery,"  while  the  members  of  the  Ninth  Regiment, 
which  arrived  the  following  day,  Saturday,  preferred  to  call  it 
"Camp  Desolation,"  a  very  appropriate  name. 

"Our  present  camp,"  says  H.  T.  Chace,  "is  in  one  respect,  at 
least,  superior  to  the  old  one,  viz.  :  in  the  evenness  of  the  tem 
perature.  The  nights  are  not  so  cold  or  damp  as  at  Tennallytown. 
We  have  more  company  around  us,  also.  It  is  evident  that  a 
large  number  of  troops  are  being  concentrated  on  this  great  plain 
at  '  Seminary  Hill.'  Between  ten  thousand  and  twenty  thou 
sand  are  already  here.  This  famous  camping-ground,  over  two 
hundred  acres  in  area,  recently  witnessed  the  stately  march  of  the 
grand  army  of  the  Potomac,  on  its  departure  for  the  Peninsula. 
We  hear  that  the  various  regiments  and  batteries  assembling  here 
are  to  be  consolidated  into  a  division.  Every  hill  top  is  crowned 
with  the  inevitable  fort ;  near  us  are  forts  Ward,  Worth,  Blanker, 
and  Ellsworth.  Fort  Ward  is  a  large  earthwork  mounting  several 
thirty-two  pounders,  and  rifled  field  pieces.  It  commands  the 
roads  to  Fairfax  Court-House,  and  Leesburg." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


207 


"Seminary  Hill  takes  its  name  from  a 
group  of  handsome  brick  buildings  partly 
hidden  in  a  grove  on  its  southeastern  slope, 
known  as  Fairfax  Seminary.  Here  Messrs. 
Bancroft,  Wheeler,  and  Hoffman  studied. 
In  yonder  grove  they  have  many  times 
walked.  We  are  now  fairly  entered  on  a  sol 
dier's  life,  and  expect  a  rough  time.  Break 
fast,  this  morning,  consisted  of  hard-bread 
and  coffee,  without  sugar  or  milk.  I  was 
on  guard  from  '  five  to  seven  o'clock,'  and 
had  a  pleasant  time  enjoying  the  view.  Be 
fore  me  was  Fort  Ward  ;  off  to  the  left 
oblique  Munson's  Hill ;  to  the  right  oblique 
was  Washington  and  the  Capitol,  while  the 
unfinished  Washington  Monument  loomed 
up,  plainly  visible." 

"As  we  marched  through  Washington,  down  Fourteenth  Street, 
we  passed  near  the  monument,  which  was  on  our  right  hand." 
At  that  time  it  was  but  partially  built,  and  was  but  little  more 
than  a  staring  mass  of  marble  blocks,  covered  \vith  mighty  der 
ricks  and  scaffolding.  It  was  also  surrounded  by  the  government 
cattle  yards  and  slaughter-houses,  and  presented  anything  but  an 
inviting  appearance.  Corp.  Nathan  H.  Baker,  of  Company  B,  tells 
a  good  story  of  being  detailed  with  a  squad  of  men  from  Camp 
Frieze,  to  get  a  supply  of  beef  for  the  regiment,  at  the  monu 
ment  stock  yards.  After  performing  this  duty,  Baker  accom 
panied  by  Nelson  W.  Aldrich,  of  Company  D,  made  a  visit  to  the 


Washington    Monument. 


2O8  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

Capitol,  and  as  Congress  had  not  assembled  for  the  day,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  the  desk  of  Representative  George  H.  Browne,  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  decked  it  with  some  spring  flowers.  They  then 
retired  to  the  gallery  to  await  the  result.  Soon  Colonel  Browne 
entered  the  chamber,  noticed  the  floral  decoration  of  his  desk, 
and  was  well  pleased  with  this  mark  of  attention  and  respect. 
The  next  year  Colonel  Browne  buckled  on  his  sword  and  rendered 
good  service  in  his  country's  defence.  A  few  more  years  passed, 
peace  and  union  were  restored,  and  Nelson  W.  Aldrich,  the  young 
volunteer  of  the  Tenth,  became  a  representative  of  the  House 
from  his  native  state. 

The  Washington  Monument  is  a  granite  shaft  faced  with  white 
marble,  six  hundred  feet  high,  fifty-five  feet  square  at  the  base, 
and  thirty  feet  square  at  the  top.  Under  the  auspices  of  the 
Washington  National  Monument  Society,  the  construction  of 
the  monument  was  begun  in  1848,  on  the  very  spot  selected  by 
Washington  himself  for  a  memorial  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Funds  amounting  to  nearly  $250,000  were  contributed  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States  of  all  ages  and  from  all  quarters  of 
the  Union,  and  the  construction  continued  until  1856,  when  it 
reached  a  height  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet.  The 
financial  embarrassments  of  the  time  led  to  the  discontinuance  of 
the  work,  and  it  was  not  until  1877  when,  by  act  of  Congress,  its 
completion  was  authorized,  and  it  was  finally  dedicated,  in  the 
presence  of  President  Arthur  and  his  cabinet,  on  the  22d  of  Feb 
ruary,  1885.  The  address  of  the  occasion  was  written  by  Robert 
C.  Winthrop,  who  in  1848  had  delivered  an  oration  on  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone. 


2O9 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 
THE  ARMY  MULE. 
[Sweet  Byn  and  Bye.] 

"You    may  sing  of  your 

beans  and  hard- tack, 

Of  bad  water  you  drank 

from  the  pool ; 
Of  tin  cup,  tin  canteen, 

haversack, 

But  you  must  not  forget 
the  old  mule ! 

The  Army  Mule. 
Chorus:     Good  old  mule,  army  mule, 

Both  your  ears  were  so  graceful  and  long; 
You  were  true  to  our  flag, 

So  we'll  praise  you  in  story  and  song! " 

"  Shortly  after  crossing  Long  Bridge,"  wrote  Chace,  "  on  the 
Virginia  side,  we  noticed  a  large  drove  of  mules,  herded  to 
gether  by  the  road-side.  They  numbered  upwards  of  two  thou 
sand."  The  motive  power  of  an  army  wagon  usually  consisted  of 
six  of  these  long-eared  creatures,  although  horses  were  substituted 
when  available.  It  requires  special  training  to  be  a  good  mule 
driver.  Mules  are  stubborn  things, — when  you  will,  they  won't ; 
and  when  you  won't  they  will !  After  being  kicked  by  a  mule, 
with  both  fore  and  hind  feet,  a  young  volunteer  mule-driver  was 
glad  to  withdraw  in  disgust.  I  heard  of  a  Virginia  mule  which 
lived  in  a  coal  mine  nine  years  after  the  war,  without  seeing 
daylight.  The  old  fellow  was  hoisted  up  the  other  day,  and  his 
first  act  was  to  kick  a  boy  sky-high.  Nine  years  in  a  coal  mine 
won't  make  a  mule  anything  but  a  mule. 

27 


2IO 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Water  Filter. 


June  27.  H.  T.  Chace,  says,  "At 
ten  o'clock  we  fell  in  for  drill  which 
ended  in  our  marching  two  miles  to 
Kurd's  Run,  and  all  bathing,  which 
was  truly  refreshing.  When  on  the 
march  some  of  the  men  are  provided 
with  filters,  an  ingenious  device  for 
straining  the  water  and  relieving  it 
from  the  presence  of  insects  and  im 
purities.  On  the  way  we  passed  sev 
eral  farms,  one  located  on  a  rising  knoll 
with  large  trees  affording  a  pleasant 
shade.  Near  by,  at  the  top,  were  the 
ruins  of  an  old  mansion-house,  while  at  the  entrance  by  the  road 
side  two  gate-posts  still  stood  like  grim  sentinels.  A  fine  meadow 
extended  to  the  right  and  left,  with  a  crop  of  rotting,  ungathered 
grass,  presenting  a  sad  picture  of  war's  desolation.  To  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  such  a  home  must  have  been  painful  indeed ;  but 
trees,  fences,  and  houses,  are  all  swept  away.  Briggs  and  I 
were  detailed,  before  dinner,  to  go  to  Fort  Ward,  for  bricks,  to 
repair  the  cooks'  fireplaces,  many  of  which  were  left  here  by  the 
regiments  preceding  us.  We  obtained  a  good  supply  by  boldly 
venturing  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  where  we  found  a  great 
many  lying  scattered  about  on  the  ground.  It  was  an  inspiriting 
sight  to  see  the  various  batteries  drilling  and  hurrying  from  point 
to  point,  in  quick  response  to  the  bugle-calls,  with  an  occasional 
race,  by  way  of  diversion.  All  these  things  enliven  us,  and  add 
the  spice  of  variety  to  a  soldier's  life. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


21  I 


"  Foraging  appears  to  be  re 
duced  to  a  science  here.  Even 
in  pitching  tents  we  had  to  look 
out  for  our  axes  and  mallets. 
If  we  happened  to  lay  them  down 
for  a  moment,  just  to  turn  round, 
we  were  very  likely  to  find  them 
missing.  The  contrabands,  also, 
are  great  foragers,  and  the  chick 
ens  and  the  ducks  have  to  suffer 
accordingly." 

Old  Decatur,  an  aged  African, 
was  recently  found  late  at  night 
in  the  vicinity  of  a  neighbor's  hen-yard,  when  he  was  thus  inter 
viewed  by  the  proprietor  : 

"  It's  pretty  damp,  Decatur,  for  a  person  with  rheumatism  to 
be  prowling  around  here  at  this  time  of  the  night." 

"Mebbe  so,  massa,  but  it's  de  doctor's  advice." 

"What,  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  the  doctor  advises  you  to 
be  out  here  nights  ?  " 

"  No  sar,  not  'zactly  dat  way,  sar — but  he  says,  '  Catur,  you 
mus'  hab'  chicken  brof,  whedder  or  no  ! '  ! 

"  Our  bill  of  fare  at  dinner  to-day,  was  as  follows,"  says  Chace  : 
"*Soup  —  chicken,  mock-turtle,  oyster.  *  Roast  —  beef,  lamb, 
turkey.  Fried — bacon,  hard  bread.  Entrees — olives,  sardines, 
pickled  shrimps.  *  Dessert — nuts,  raisins,  figs.  Drinks— water." 


NOTE.— The  items   marked   *   were  unfortunately  overlooked   by  the  cook,  and  we  were  con- 
sequently  reduced  to  fried  bacon,  hard  bread,  and  water. 


212 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Game. 


"  Corp.  Nathan  H.  Baker  went  out 
on  a  little  foraging  expedition  yes 
terday  afternoon,"  wrote  the  author 
in  a  letter  home,  June  27th,  "and 
calling  me  out,  on  his  return,  dis- 
played  a  single,  solitary  chicken.  It 
was  safely  landed  in  the  High  School  tent,  where  it  was  secretly 
stowed  away,  and  in  due  time  Corp.  William  P.  Vaughan  under 
took  to  construct  a  chicken  stew  for  the  whole  mess,  consisting  of 
seventeen  hungry  recruits.  He  said  he  could  do  it,  and  had  never 
failed  us  on  good  coffee,  but  it  proved  to  be  '  fowl  play  '  in  this 
instance.  He  proceeded  to  fill  one  of  our  large  iron  mess  buckets 
with  water,  prepared  and  placed  the  chicken  therein.  He  then  used 
up  about  all  our  stock  of  pepper  and  salt  for  seasoning,  and  after  so 
many  minutes  by  the  watch,  and  a  pretended  lasting,  he  3aid  'fall 
in  for  chicken  stew.'  So  we  all  fell  in,  and  each  had  his  share,  as 
he  found,  unduly  seasoned  ;  for  he  immediately  passed  his  cup 
along  to  the  next  victim,  with  a  wry  face.  There  was  plenty  of 
stew  for  all,  and  a  good  supply  left  for  the  college  boys.  Our 
cook  says,  '  next  time  draw  a  little  less  water  and  more  chicken  !  '  ' 
"This  afternoon,"  resumed  Mr.  Chace,  "  Cady  and  I  are  on 
guard.  We  are  on  the  second  relief,  two  hours  on,  and  then  four 
hours  off.  As  we  were  on,  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  came  march 
ing  into  camp.  They  left  Camp  Frieze  at  five  o'clock  this  morning, 
June  28th,  reaching  here  about  twelve,  traveling  by  a  shorter 
route  than  we  did.  The  weather  is  very  warm,  and  for  some 
time  the  men  came  straggling  into  camp,  tired  out.  The  survey 
ors  are  now  laying  out  the  quarters  of  the  Ninth,  adjoining  ours." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  213 

''Judging  from  the  variety  we  have  thus  far  had,"  wrote  Chace, 
of  Company  D,  "  a  soldier's  life  is  about  the  spiciest  of  any."  It 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  excellent  poem  by  Prof.  W. 
Whitman  Bailey,  another  high  private  of  Company  D,  Tenth 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers  : 

A  DAY  IN  CAMP. 

"  Faintly  sounds  the  '  reveille,'  and  now  it  louder  thrums  ; 
We  hear  the  music  of  the  fife,  the  tapping  of  the  drums, 
And  mutter  '  you  must  louder  beat  before  this  private  comes !  ' 

What!  calling  to  '  police  '  the  camp,  is  that  our  duty,  too? 

To  sweep  and  dust  with  mop  and  broom,  like  common  '  biddies  '  do; 

And  not  a  taste  of  coffee  yet?     This  work  is  somewhat  new! 

There's  '  peas  upon  a  trencher,'  the  breakfast  call,  they  say, 
Our  cup  and  pan  we  haste  to  seize,  and  gladly  speed  away, 
To  take  our  meagre  little  third  of  '  rations'  for  the  day. 

'Guard-mounting'  after  breakfast  comes,  parade  turned  inside  out, 
Just  watch  the  major  of  the  drums  how  he  doth  strut  about; 
The  greatest  man  upon  our  side,  of  this  there  is  no  doubt. 

Then  comes  the  call  for  morning  drill,  our  '  cap '  a  man  is  he, 
Who  posted  up  the  night  before  on  his  '  Revised  Hardee,' 
Just  '  boned'*  his  tactics  like  a  man,  from  '  taps  '  to  '  reveille.' 

You  cannot  stick  him,  don't  you  try,  and  questions  will  not  do; 
The  guard  tent,  lo,  adjacent  stands,  in  front  of  it  a  crew 
Of  myrmidons  to  execute,  the  insurbordinate  few. 

The  morn  is  spent  in  drilling,  but  '  roast  beef  sounds  at  last, 
The  salt-junk  motions  us  to  come  to  our  sublime  repast, 
Ere  envious  harpies  from  on  post  descend  to  break  their  fast. 

"*Boned,"  a  West  Point  cadet  word  for  hard  study. 


214  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

A  pipe,  and  then  more  tactics,  to  help  the  captain  out, 
That  he  may  know  to-morrow  how  best  to  '  face  about,' 
Or  form  '  a  line  of  battle,'  ere  the  rebels  knock  us  out. 

Battalion  drills  and  lots  of  things  in  time  will  interpose, 
To  let  us  feel  that  martial  life  is  not  'coleur  de  rose,' 
Nor  idling  all  the  time  away,  as  most  recruits  suppose. 

At  dress  parade  the  soldier,  if  he  has  a  bit  of  pride, 
Steps  gaily  forth,  a  gallant  man,  of  all  the  earth  espied, 
And  holding  in  his  single  hand  his  country's  welfare  wide, 

Melodiously  the  bugle  is  sounding  the  '  retreat;' 

The  weary  work  of  day  is  done;  there's  rest  for  tired  feet, 

The  '  briar  woods '  will  offer  soon  the  night's  supreme  treat. 

Ah  !  what  is  like  those  old-time  nights  around  the  flaring  blaze? 
What  comrades  like  the  ones  we  met  in  yonder  vanished  days! 
Old  time  will  keep  their  memory  green  and  fresh  for  us  always. 

But  hark!  that  surely  is  '  tattoo,'  how  quick  the  time  has  sped! 
Now  hasten  every  soldier  true  to  unroll  his  '  little  bed,' 
For  '  taps'  will  soon  be  beating,  and  a  day  in  camp  be  fled." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  215 

HEADQUARTERS   RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS, 
General  Orders  No.  j1.  WASHINGTON,  June  26,  1862. 

All  commands  of  the  Reserve  Army  Corps  south  of  the  Potomac,  not  garri 
soning  fortifications  will  constitute  a  Division  to  consist  of  two  Brigades. 

The  first  brigade  to  be  under  command  of  Brigadier-General  Cooke,  and  to  be 
stationed  at  Cloud's  Mills,  Virginia,  and  will  comprise  the  following  commands  : 

Fourteenth  United  States  Infantry,         .         .         .         MAJOR  WILLIAMS. 

Seventeenth  United  States  Infantry,       ... 

Nineteenth  United  States  Infantry,         ...  " 

First  and  Eleventh  L'nited  States  Infantry,    . 

Sixty-ninth  New  York  Infantry,     ....         COLONEL  BAGLEY. 

Sixth  New  York  Cavalry,        .....         COLONEL  DEVIN. 

Ninth  New  York  Cavalry,        .....         COLONEL  BEARDSLEY. 

Second  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,         ....         COLONEL  PRICE. 

Company  L,  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry,     .         .         CAPTAIN  BRISBIN. 

Detachment  Fifth  L'nited  States  Cavalry,       .         .         LIEUTENANT  FOSDICK. 

Sixteenth  New  York  Battery,  ....         CAPTAIN  LOCKE. 

The  second  brigade  to  be  under  command  of  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss,  Tenth  Regi 
ment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  and  to  be  stationed  near  the  Fairfax  Seminary, 
and  will  comprise  the  following  commands  : 

Battery  L,  Second  New  York  Artillery,       .         .         CAPTAIN  ROEMER. 

Sixteenth  Indiana  Batte.ry,    .....         CAPTAIN  NAYLOR. 

Battery  C,  First  New  York  Artillery,  .         .         CAPTAIN  BARNES. 

Second  Excelsior  Battery, CAPTAIN  BRUEN. 

Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,          .         COLONEL  BLISS. 

Ninth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  .         LIEUT. -CoL.  PITMAN. 

Thirty-second  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  .         LIEUT. -CoL.  PARKER. 

Twelfth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  .         .         .         COLONEL  PIERCE. 

The  above  troops  will  report  at  once  to  their  respective  commanders. 

The  quartermaster  will  furnish  the  necessary  transportation. 
Official:  S.  D.  STURGIS, 

WILLIAM  C.  RAWOLLE,  Brig.-Gen.   Commanding. 

Captain  and  A.  D.  C. 


2l6  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  VIRGINIA, 

WASHINGTON,  June  27,  1862. 
Gene  nil  Orders  No.  /• 

In  accordance  with  instructions  from  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  undersigned  assumes  command  of  the  forces  comprising  the 
late  departments  of  Major-Generals  Fremont,  Banks,  and  McDowell,  together 
with  the  forces  in  and  around  Washington,  now  under  command  of  Brigadier- 
General  Sturgis.  The  headquarters  of  this  command  will  be  established  for  the 
present  in  Washington. 


General  Orders  No.  2. 

Col.  George  D.  Ruggles    is  announced    as  Assistant  Adjutant-General   and 
Chief  of  Staff  at  these  headquarters. 

Official:  JOHN   POPE, 

Ma/.- Gen.  Commanding. 


HEADQUARTERS,  SECOND  BRIGADE, 

STURGIS'S  DIVISION,  June  28,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  i. 

In  obedience  to  instructions  contained  in  General  Orders  Number  Three, 
Headquarters  Reserve  Army  Corps,  Washington,  D.  C.,  the  undersigned 
hereby  assumes  command  of  the  Second  Brigade,  Sturgis's  Division. 

Official:  ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Col.  Tenth  R.  I.   Volunteers 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Commanding. 

Adjutant  and 

Acfg  Ass't  Adft  Gen  I. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  217 


HEADqUARTERS    RESERVE    ARMY    CORPS, 

ALEXANDRIA,  VA.,  June  29,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  j. 

I.  The   Ninety-ninth    Regiment    Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  the  Ninety-first 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  the  Fifty-ninth  Regiment  New  York  Vol 
unteers,  and  the  Thirty-second  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  will  move 
at  once,  provided  with  one  hundred  rounds  of  cartridges  and  five  days'  rations 
to  embark  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.     The  quartermaster  will  furnish  the  neces 
sary  transportation. 

II.  The  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  (Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss), 
will  take   immediate  possession  of  the  forts   to  be   vacated  by  the   Fifty-ninth 
Regiment  New  York  Volunteers.     The  colonel  commanding  is  directed  to  send 
an  officer  and  a  sufficient  force  in  advance,  to  receipt  for  and  take  charge  of  all 
Government  property  in  said  forts. 

III.  The   Ninth    Regiment   Rhode   Island   Volunteers    (Lieutenant-Colonel 
Pitman),  will  take  immediate  possession  of  the  forts  on   the  east  branch  of  the 
Potomac,  extending  from  Fort  Meigs  to  Fort  Greble. 

IV.  The  colonel  commanding  is  directed  to  send  an  officer  and   a  sufficient 
force  in  advance  to  receipt  for  and  take  charge  of  all  Government  property  in 
said  forts. 

V.  The  Sixty-third  Indiana  Volunteers  (Lieutenant-Colonel  Williams  com 
manding),  will  take  the  place  of  the  Ninety-first  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  as 
provost-guard,  in  Alexandria. 

By  order  of 

Brig.-Gen.  S.  D.  STURGIS, 


28 


HENRY  R.   MIGUELS, 

dipt,  and  A.  A.  G. 


2l8  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS  RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS. 

ALEXANDRIA,  VA.,  June  29,  i.%2. 
General  Orders  No.  S. 

I.  The  following  announcement  of  the  staff  of  the  general  commanding  is 
made  for  the  information  of  all  concerned  : 

LIEUT. -CoL.  J.  A.  HASKIN,  Inspector-General ; 
CAPT.   H.  R.  MIGHELS,  Assistant  Adjutant-General ; 
"        NELSON  PLATO,  Chief  Quartermaster ; 
"         F.  E.  BERRIER,  Chief  Commissary ; 
"        WILLIAM  C.  RAWOLLE,  Aide-de-Camp ; 
I.  K.  CASEY, 
H.  B.  STURGIS, 
"        J.  S.  GRIER, 

II.  Col.  J.  A.  Haskin  is  placed  in  charge  of  fortifications  north  of  the  Poto 
mac;  his  headquarters  will  be  established  in  Washington  City.    All  reports  and 
returns  of  the  troops  north  of  the  Potomac  intended  for  these  headquarters  will 

be  made  to  his  office. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

H.  R.  MIGHELS, 

Capt.  ami  A.  A.  G. 


HEADQUARTERS  RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS, 

ALEXANDRIA,  YA.,  June  30,  1862. 
Special  Order  IVo.  9. 

Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  is  hereby  relieved  from 
duty  as  Acting  Brigadier-General,  Second  Brigade,  Reserve  Army  Corps. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General   STURGIS, 

H.  R.  MIGHELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  219 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT,  R.  I.  VOLS., 
SEMINARY  HILL,  YA.,  June  30,  1862. 

Second  Lieutenant  William  C.  Chace,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  is 
hereby  detailed  as  Acting  Assistant  Quartermaster  for  the  T  nth  Rhode  Island 
Volunteers,  and  will  report  immediately  to  these  headquarters  for  instructions. 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Col.  Tenth  R.  I.  Vols. 
Commanding. 

HEADQUARTERS  RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS, 

ALEXANDRIA,  VA.,  June  30,  1862. 
COL.  ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Coin  £  Tenth  R.  7.   Voh. 

You  will  proceed  at  once  to  Fort  Pennsylvania,  Tennallytown,  D.  C.,  with 
your  entire  command,  the  Light  Battery  included. 

By  order  of 

Brigadier-General  STURGIS, 

HENRY  R.  MIGUELS, 

Capt.  and  A.  A.  G. 


SEMINARY  HOSPITAL,  GEORGETOWN,  D.  C., 
June  29,   1862. 

SIR:  I  have  to  inform  you  of  the  death,  this  day,  of  Private  William  F. 
Atwood,  of  Company  A,  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volunteers.  Disease, 
peritonitis.  His  funeral  will  take  place  at  four  o'clock  to-morrow. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  R.  SMITH, 

To  the  Adjutant    and  Captain   of  Asit  Surgeon  U.  S.  Army 

Company  A,    Tenth  Regiment  R .  I .  in  charge  of  Hospital. 

Voh.,  Camp  at  Seminary  Hill.   I'd. 


220 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


The  sudden  death  of  Fred  Atwood  produced  a  universal  feeling 
of  sorrow.  He  was  greatly  beloved  for  his  manly  qualities. 

June  1 5th,  only  two  weeks  before,  he  had  written  home  that 
he  was  well,  and  had  been  into  Washington  "to  see  the  sights." 
He  then  described  his  visit  to  the  Capitol,  and  of  going  in  to 
listen  to  the  debate  in  the  Senate.  "  I  also  went,"  he  continues, 

"over  the  Patent  Office,  and  among 
the  millions  of  curious  things,  the 
most  interesting  to  me  were  the 
articles  that  belonged  to  General 
Washington.  There  were  his  coat, 
vest,  and  knee-breeches,  which  he 
wore  when  he  resigned  his  com- 
Washington's  Treasure  BOX.  mission  at  Annapolis.  There  was 

his  iron  treasure  box,  sword,  lantern,  chairs, 
tent-poles,  fire  bucket,  etc.  That  room  con 
tained  enough  to  interest  me  for  a  month. 
I  then  visited  the  White  House,  and  went 
into  the  reception  room,  which  is  furnished 
splendidly.  I  wish  that  you  and  I  could  stay 
here  a  week  and  go  around  as  much  as  we 
liked.  We  have  but  little  sickness.  I  am  in 
as  good  health  as  I  ever  was.  We  will  have 
to  give  up  the  good  times  we  were  going  to 
have,  for  the  present,  but  if  I  get  back  at  the  end  of  the  three 
months,  we  will  make  up  for  lost  time."  Just  two  weeks  later 
came  the  sudden  and  startling  intelligence  of  his  death.  He  left 
the  noble  example  of  a  brave  and  spotless  manhood. 


Fire  Bucket. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  221 

"Early  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  June  3Oth,"  wrote  Lieut. 
Winthrop  DeWolf,  "  came  the  order  assigning  the  Tenth  Regi 
ment  to  garrison  duty  in  the  seven  forts  and  three  batteries 
hitherto  occupied  by  the  New  York  Fifty-ninth,  constituting  that 
portion  of  the  defensive  chain  which  protects  the  capital  on  the 
northwest.  A  lieutenant,  sergeant,  and  twelve  men  from  each 
company,  under  command  of  Lieut.  Samuel  H.  Thomas,  of  Com 
pany  B,  were  detailed  to  march  at  once  and  take  possession  of  the 
several  posts,  in  advance  of  the  main  body,  so  as  to  expedite  the 
departure  of  the  Fifty-ninth,  ordered  to  join  McClellan  on  the 
Peninsula,  who  was  then  fighting  and  retreating  to  a  new  base  on 
the  James  river.  The  detachment  of  one  hundred  and  forty  men 
reached  Tennallytown  soon  after  noon,  with  only  twelve  miles 
marching.  At  Fort  Pennsylvania,  near  by,  our  several  posts  were 
assigned  us.  Much  to  my  satisfaction  our  little  party  were  sent 
to  Chain  Bridge  to  occupy  Battery  Martin  Scott,  commanding 
that  important  approach  to  Washington.  Here  we  remained 
three  days,  seemingly  forgotten  by  the  world,  for  no  familiar  face 
presented  itself ;  no  army  wagon  with  rations  crept  down  the  long, 
steep  hill ;  no  newspapers,  no  mail,  nobody  came  to  see  if  we 
were  dead  or  alive.  Yet  do  not  grieve  for  us.  We  lived  on  the 
fat  of  the  land — and  the  water  too.  From  the  Potomac  we  had 
shad,  herring,  and  catfish ;  by  energetic  foraging  in  the  neighbor 
hood  we  obtained  milk,  butter,  eggs,  chickens,  corn-bread,  sugar, 
and  coffee,  and  a  dilapidated  stove  found  near  by  sufficed  to  cook 
them.  On  the  whole  we  were  rather  sorry  when  the  message 
came  from  headquarters  that  Company  U  was  occupying  Fort 
De  Russey,  where  we  were  to  report  forthwith." 


222 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Captain  Hale,  Company 
I,  under  the  nom-dc-plume 
of  Matthew  Bagnet,  wrote  : 
"It  is  related  somewhere 
in  profane  poesy  that : 

'  The  king  of  France,  with  forty 

thousand  men, 

Marched  up  the  hill,  and  then 
marched  down  again.' 

Well,  the  gallant  Tenth 
have  imitated  his  illustri 
ous  example,  on  a  some 
what  more  extended  scale 
in  point  of  distance,  if  not 
of  numbers.  In  short  we 
have  made  a  forced  march 
—at  least,  I  suppose  that  is  what  they  call  it — for  it  was  a  march, 
and  we  were  forced  to  make  it.  After  marching  up  the  hill,  we 
were  scarcely  settled  in  our  new  location,  had  scarcely  drawn 
the  vinegar  bottle  out  of  our  stocking,  and  the  pepper-sauce  from 
our  shirt-sleeves  (where  they  had  been  placed  for  safe  transporta 
tion),  had  just  filled  to  overflowing  our  eyes,  ears,  noses,  mouths, 
lungs,  and  epidermis,  with  the  dusty  exhalations  of  '  Old  Vir- 
ginny,'  when  the  order  came  for  us  to  move,  and  here  was  where 
'we  marched  down  the  hill  again.' 

"  Early  Monday  morning,  June  3Oth,  tents  were  struck  in  a 
hurry,  baggage-wagons  loaded  at  the  double-quick,  and  we  were 
ready  to  resume  the  march,  at  a  run  if  necessary,  anything  to 


Marching  Order 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  223 

escape  Camp  Misery,  Seminary  Hill,  Fairfax  County,  Virginia." 
A  three  mile  march  brought  us  to  Alexandria,  where  we  marched 
by  the  Marshall  House,  singing  "John  Brown"  and  "Ellsworth's 
Avengers,"  led  by  Levi  Burdon,  of  Company  D,  who  stood  on  the 
hotel  steps.  The  headquarters  of  Acting  Brig.-Gen.  Zenas  R.  Bliss, 
was  also  serenaded.  "At  length  the  regiment  halted  on  a  long 
wharf,  facing  the  Potomac.  After  the  usual,  and,  of  course,  neces 
sary  delay,  we  were  packed,  bag  and  baggage,  men  and  guns,  on 
board  some  transports  bound  to  Washington,  where  we  arrived 
about  dusk,  and,  unfortunately  too  late  to  unload  our  baggage. 
So,  after  a  weary  rest  on  Sixth  street,  we  resumed  our  march  for 
Tennallytown,  at  10.30  P.  M.,  reaching  that  memorable  locality 
about  2.30  A.  M.,  and  a  very  cool  and  penetrating  A.  M.  at  that. 
Here  we  bivouacked,  without  tents  or  blankets. 

"  Bivouac  is  a  word  of  French  extraction,  and  I  am  sorry  that  the 
use  of  it  is  not  confined  to  that  volatile  nation.  But  it  is  not,  so 
we  bivouacked  in  a  ten  acre  lot,  without  even  a  rail  fence  to  keep 
the  cold  out.  Tired  and  foot  sore,  we  lay  down  on  the  cold 
ground,  with  the  sky  for  our  nearest  covering,  and  the  horizon 
for  the  sides  of  our  bed.  I  secured  a  handful  of  straw  and  tried 
to  fashion  it  into  a  luxurious  couch,  but  the  straw  was  obstinate 
and  wouldn't  be  fashioned.  Corporal  Stump  tried  to  cover  him 
self  with  his  gun,  but  found  he  couldn't  tuck  in  the  sides,  and  so 
didn't  go  to  sleep  for  fear  he  should  fall  out  of  bed.  Some 
crawled  into  hay-ricks  and  some  into  barns,  while  the  corporal, 
after  vainly  trying  the  protection  of  his  musket,  betook  himself  to 
the  shelter  of  an  empty  flour  barrel,  which  fitted  him  to  a  nicety, 
and  where  he  slept  the  sleep  of  innocence. 


224  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

''Between  dozing  and  shivering,  the  hours  dragged  slowly  on. 
Now  nodding  off  into  fancied  comfort,  and  now  waking  up  in  real 
discomfort  ;  now  trying  to  soften  the  hard  bosom  of  mother 
earth,  and  then  in  a  sleepy  delirium  trying  to  pull  the  edge  of  a 
ten  acre  lot  over  one  for  a  coverlet ;  such  is  bivouacking."  To 
counteract  the  effects  of  the  damp  night  air,  whisky  rations 
were  issued  to  stimulate  the  flagging  zeal  of  the  men  who 
were  getting  faint  at  heart,  weak  in  the  knees,  and  lame  and 
sore  in  body.  "At  early  dawn,  July  ist,"  Capt.  Elisha  Dyer 
wrote,  "the  regiment  was  in  motion,  and  hungry,  weary,  and 
dispirited,  marched  to  the  headquarters  at  Fort  Pennsylvania. 
At  noon  a  piercing  northeasterly  storm  came  upon  us,  without 
tents  or  other  protection,  except  such  as  was  afforded  by  the  quar 
termaster's  store-house  and  other  lesser  buildings  left  by  the 
Fifty-ninth  New  York.  On  the  floor,  among  boxes  and  barrels, 
our  men  lay  huddled  together  for  hours  without  food  or  relief  of  any 
kind.  The  result  of  this  last  trying  march  from  Virginia,  was  an 
addition  to  our  sick  list,  upon  which  the  writer's  name  appeared 
for  a  few  days.  Our  camp  equipage,  knapsacks,  and  stores,  at 
length  arrived,  and  company  quarters  were  assigned  and  marching 
orders  given.  Companies  B  and  K,  Captains  Dyer  and  Low,  to 
Fort  Pennsylvania,  the  regimental  headquarters ;  Company  A, 
CaptainTaber,  to  Fort  Franklin  ;  Company  C,  Captain  Vose,  Bat 
teries  Cameron  and  Martin  Scott ;  Company  D,  Captain  Smith, 
Fort  De  Russey ;  Companies  E  and  I,  Captains  Cady  and  Hale, 
Fort  Alexander ;  Company  F,  Captain  Harris,  Fort  Ripley  ;  Com 
pany  G,  Captain  Greene,  Fort  Gaines ;  Company  H,  Captain 
Duckworth,  Batteries  Vermont  and  Martin  Scott." 


I 

"  i 

~  o 

s:  30 

5  H 


a  m 


3  •< 

2  < 

o.  > 

,J  Z 


226 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


i^f  r?f\  j=>e  T         A 

3 

/                         T*fl  ^P/T  7s  E  T                              7^ 

DITCH 

4 

DITCH 

P\zr\  of  Fort  Pennsylvania. 

Fort  Pennsylvania  mounted  three  Parrott  siege  guns  and  nine 
24-pounder  barbette  guns ;  Fort  Gaines,  four  32-pounder  barbette 
guns ;  Fort  De  Russy,  three  24-pounder  and  four  32-pounder  bar 
bette  guns  ;  Fort  Alexander,  seven  32-pounder  barbette  guns  ;  Fort 
Franklin,  six  32-pounder  barbette  guns  ;  Fort  Ripley,  six  24-pounder 
barbette  guns  ;  Battery  Vermont,  three  32-pounder  barbette  guns, 
and  is  mounting  more ;  Battery  Cameron,  two  42-pounder  bar 
bette  guns  ;  Battery  Martin  Scott,  one  32-pounder  barbette  gun 
and  two  mountain  howitzers ;  total,  fifty  guns.  These  forts  and 
batteries  extends  over  a  space  of  six  or  eight  miles,  from  Battery 
Cameron  on  the  left,  near  the  Potomac,  to  Fort,De  Russy  on  the 
right,  near  Rock  Creek,  commanding  the  view  at  and  near  Chain 
Bridge,  and  the  roads  to  Harper's  Ferry  and  Rockville. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  227 

A  brief  review  of  the  military  situa 
tion  in  Virginia,  in  June,  1862,  is  neces 
sary  in  order  to  understand  why  our 
forces  around  Washington  were  ordered 
into  Virginia,  and  a  week  later  were 
ordered  back,  or,  how  we  resembled 
the  soldiers  of  another  army,  who 
"  marched  up  a  hill,  and  then  marched 

down    again  !  "  On  to  Richmond  ! 

Notwithstanding  the  success  achieved  at  Fort  Oaks,  June  ist, 
the  situation  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  besieging  the  Con 
federate  capital,  was  becoming  critical.  And,  although  on  the 
following  day,  the  advance  under  Hooker  pushed  forward  within 
sight  of  the  steeples  of  Richmond,  McClellan  declared  that  he 
could  accomplish  nothing  further  until  his  right  was  reinforced 
by  McDowell's  Corps,  which  had  been  withheld  for  the  defence  of 
Washington.  On  the  twelfth  instant,  McDowell  advised  Mc 
Clellan:  "For  the  third  time  I  am  ordered  to  join  you,  and 
hope  this  time  to  get  through.  .  .  .  McCall's  division  goes 
in  advance  by  water.  I  will  be  with  you  in  ten  days  with  the 
remainder  via  Fredericksburg."  To  support  this  forward  move 
ment  to  the  Peninsula,  a  general  advance  was  ordered  of  all  the 
forces  around  Washington  to  concentrate  at  Seminary  Hill  and 
Cloud's  Mills,  in  Virginia,  and,  in  a  few  days,  an  entire  division 
under  the  command  of  General  Sturgis,  was  in  position,  the  Ninth 
and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Regiments  and  Battery  being  assigned 
to  the  Second  Brigade,  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss,  acting  brigadier-gen 
eral,  commanding.  As  we  pitched  our  tents  on  Seminary  Hill, 


228  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

on  the  afternoon  of  June  26th,  it  was  generally  believed  that  at  last 
we  were  on  our  way  to  Richmond,  perhaps  to  aid  in  making  an 
end  of  the  Confederacy.  Not  much  was  said  about  righting,  but 
doubtless  a  good  deal  of  thinking  was  done  on  that  tender  subject. 
But  at  that  very  hour,  the  turning-point  of  the  Peninsula  cam 
paign  was  reached.  Jackson  had  escaped  the  combined  pursuit 
of  Fremont,  Banks,  and  McDowell,  and  joined  the  main  army  of 
Lee  at  Richmond.  By  his  masterly  movements  he  had  prevented 
the  reinforcement  of  McClellan's  exposed  right,  by  McDowell, 
and  now  interposed  his  own  corps  of  thirty-five  thousand  men 
between  them.  He  had  so  completely  puzzled  the  authorities  at 
Washington,  who  appear  to  have  been  directing,  or  misdirecting 
the  campaign,  that  it  seemed  to  them  that  Jackson  was  more 
likely  to  be  sweeping  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley  than  to  be 
marching  back  to  Richmond.  For  this  cause  they  held  back  the 
reinforcements,  and  McClellan  was  left  to  meet  the  impending 
attack,  unaided.  On  the  25th,  the  Secretary  of  War  telegraphed 
him,  "  Neither  Banks,  Fremont,  or  McDowell,  have  any  accurate 
knowledge  of  Jackson's  whereabouts."  On  the  26th,  McClellan 
reported  that  Jackson  was  on  his  right,  driving  in  his  pickets. 
At  three  o'clock  that  afternoon,  as  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volun 
teers  were  quietly  pitching  their  tents  at  Seminary  Hill,  the 
battle  for  Richmond  was  set  in  motion  at  Mechanicsville.  The 
next  day,  the  2/th,  Jackson  took  command  of  the  left  wing  of  the 
enemy,  and  attacked  McClellan's  right  with  such  overwhelming 
force  at  Gaines's  Mills  as  to  turn  his  position  and  cause  his  retreat 
to  the  James  river.  The  order  to  withdraw  was  especially  bitter 
to  Hooker,  on  the  left,  who  had  pressed  forward  to  the  very  gates 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  229 

of  Richmond,  where  the  prize  seemed  almost  within  his  grasp.  On 
the  same  day,  June  26th,  when  McClellan  reported  the  arrival  of 
Jackson  in  his  front,  after  outmanoeuvring  and  outmarching,  the 
combined  forces  of  Fremont,  Banks,  and  McDowell,  these  here 
tofore  three  independent  commands  were  consolidated  into  one 
army,  called  the  Army  of  Virginia,  and  Maj.-Gen.  John  Pope, 
whose  success  in  the  west  had  given  him  reputation,  was  assigned 
by  the  President  to  the  chief  command.  Two  days  later,  when  the 
news  of  McClellan's  retreat  to  the  James  reached  Washington, 
all  orders  for  the  advance  of  troops  were  countermanded,  and,  with 
other  forces,  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Regiment  and  Battery  were 
ordered  back  to  the  vicinity  of  their  old  camps. 

The  following  is  the  order  creating  the  Army  of  Virginia : 

WASHINGTON,  June  26,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  /oj. 

I.  The  forces  under  Major-Generals  Fremont,  Banks  and  McDowell,  includ 
ing  the  troops  now  under  Brigadier-General  Sturgis,  at  Washington,  shall  be 
consolidated,  and  form  one  army,  to  be  called  the  Army  of  Virginia. 

II.  The  command  of  the  Army  of  Virginia   is   especially  assigned  to  Major- 
General  Pope  as  commanding  general. 

The  troops  of  the  Mountain  Department,  heretofore  under  command  of  Gen 
eral  Fremont  (after  Fremont's  resignation  General  Sigel  was  appointed),  shall 
constitute  the  first  army  corps,  under  the  command  of  General  Sigel. 

The  troops  of  the  Shenandoah  Department,  now  under  General  Banks,  shall 
constitute  the  second  army  corps,  and  be  commanded  by  him. 

The  troops  under  the  command  of  General  McDowell,  except  those  within 
the  fortifications  and  the  City  of  Washington,  shall  form  the  third  army  corps, 
and  be  under  his  command. 

By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant- General. 


2*0 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


July  i  st.  Fortunately 
the  author  escaped  the 
night  march  to  Tennally- 
town,  for  he  wrote,  "  I 
was  appointed  on  the 
rear  guard  to  remain  at 
Washington  and  look 
after  the  stores  and  bag 
gage  on  the  transports. 
There  was  no  room  for 
us  either  in  the  cabin  or 
,  forecastle,  so  we  tried 
to  find  a  soft  bed  in  the 

Back  to  Tennallytown !  hold          SleCD     Was      cliffi- 

cult,  however,  among  the  boxes  and  barrels  and  smells  which  sur 
rounded  us,  and  we  were  glad  when  the  morning  came,  and  we  could 
mount  up  on  deck  and  get  a  supply  of  fresh  air.  After  getting 
the  baggage  loaded  on  the  army  wagons,  we  started  for  camp. 
Two  of  us  were  put  in  charge  of  a  sutler's  provision  wagon,  and 
after  marching  a  while  we  climbed  in  behind,  and,  being  almost 
famished,  feasted  ourselves  on  bologna  sausages,  greasy  pies, 
cakes,  doughnuts,  and  cookies.  The  doughnuts  were  either 
hand  made  or  machine  sewed,  but  we  have  become  pretty  well 
'seasoned'  for  anything  during  our  short  campaigning,  and  we 
managed  to  '  get  away '  with  quite  an  allowance  of  the  sutler's 
pastry."  It  was  the  only  time  we  had  pie  enough  in  the  army. 
Fortunately  the  road  was  rough,  and  we  were  well  shaken  up, 
else  we  might  have  died  from  the  graspings  of  indigestion. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  231 

The  author  had  been  in  camp  only  an  hour  or  two  when  he  was 
summoned  to  the  officers'  quarters,  and  informed  that  he  had 
been  detailed  from  the  regiment  under  the  following  orders  : 

HEADQUARTERS   RESERVE  ARMY  CORPS, 
COL.  ZENAS  R.  BLISS,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  i,  1862. 

Com'g  Tenth  R.  I.   Vola. 

The  General  Commanding  directs  me  to  say  that  you  detail  two  intelligent 
non-commissioned  officers  or  men  as  clerks  to  Col.  George  D.  Ruggles,  head 
quarters  of  General  Pope,  at  the  War  Department. 

WILLIAM    C.   RAWOLLE, 

Captain  and  A.  D.  C. 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT,  R.  I.  VOLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  July  i,  1862. 
Special  Orders  No.  14. 

Company  B  will  detail  one  non-commissioned  officer  or  man  for  service  as 
clerk  to  Colonel  Ruggles,  headquarters  of  General  Pope,  at  the  War  Depart 
ment,  who  will  report  to  these  headquarters  forthwith  for  instructions. 

Bv  order  of 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Adjutant. 

HEADOJJARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  July   i,   1862. 
Special  Orders  No.  75. 

Company  D  will  detail  one  non-commissioned  officer  or  man,  for  service  as 
clerk  to  Colonel  Ruggles,  headquarters  of  General  Pope,  at  the  War  Depart 
ment,  who  will  report  to  these  headquarters  forthwith  for  instructions. 

By  order  of 

ZEXAS  R.  BLISS, 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Adjutant. 


Gen.  John   Pope  in   1862. 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

General  Pope  had  just  arrived  in 
Washington,  from  the  west,  and  as 
sumed  command  of  the  Army  of  Vir 
ginia.  A  fortnight  was  spent  in  organ 
izing  his  personal  staff,  and  two  men 
were  detached  from  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers  for  special  service  at 
headquarters,  the  author  from  Com 
pany  B,  and  Charles  H.  Wildman  from 
Company  D,  and  the  following  orders 
were  issued : 


HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 
Special  Orders  No.  16.  FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  July  2,  1862. 

Privates  William  A.  Spicer,  of  Company  B,  and  Charles  II.  Wildman,  of 
Company  D,  are  hereby  detailed  for  service  in  Washington  as  clerks  to  Col. 
George  D.  Ruggles,  Chief  of  Staff",  at  the  headquarters  of  General  Pope,  and 
will  report  at  the  War  Department  for  duty  forthwith. 

By  order  of  ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Adjutant. 


HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 
COLONEL  RUGGLES,  FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  July  -,  1862. 

A.  A.  G.  and  Chief  of  Staff. 

I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  in  accordance  with  orders  yesterday  received, 
the  bearers,  Privates  William  A.  Spicer  and  Charles  H.  Wildman  are  detailed 
for  service  as  clerks  in  your  department. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Signed,  JOHN  F.  TOBEY, 

Ailjt.  Tenth  R.  I.   Vols. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


233 


Our  Ambulance  Ride. 


Letter  from  the  author  :  "  Head 
quarters  Army  of  Virginia,  232  G 
Street,  Washington,  July  3,  1862. 
Don't  be  startled  because  I've  turned 
up  in  another  new  locality.  Sunday 
night,  June  3Oth,  was  our  last  at 
Camp  Misery,  in  Virginia.  Monday 
night,  July  1st,  I  slept  on  board  a 
transport  at  the  Washington  Navy 
Yard,  and  Tuesday  afternoon  reported  at  Fort  Pennsylvania. 
Things  were  in  a  tipsy-topsy,  hurly-burly  state  on  my  arrival." 
"  Unfortunately,"  says  Captain  Dyer,  "that  curse  of  the  army, 
whiskey,  found  its  way  among  our  men  and  confusion  reigned." 
One  of  the  men  always  got  drunk  on  pay-day,  in  order,  as  he 
said,  that  he  could  see  double,  and  thus,  in  imagination,  get 
double  pay.  Another  man  was  wiser,  who  kept  sober,  but 
always  put  on  his  spectacles  when  eating  cherries,  so  that  the 
fruit  might  look  larger  and  more  tempting. 

"  Tuesday  afternoon,  June  2d,  I  had  spent  but  an  hour  or  two  in 
camp,  at  Fort  Pennsylvania,  when  I  was  officially  informed  (see 
orders  inclosed),  that  two  of  us,  had  been  detailed  for  special  ser 
vice  at  the  War  Department,  with  orders  to  report  at  once. 
Hurriedly  packing  our  knapsacks,  and  loading  all  our  personal 
effects  into  an  army  ambulance,  we  bade  our  comrades  good-bye, 
and  started  for  Washington  about  half  past  two  p.  M.  The  rain 
was  descending  in  sheets,  as  we  halted  at  the  War  Department, 
and  we  got  our  feet  thoroughly  soaked  in  transferring  our  bag 
gage  from  the  ambulance  to  the  corridor  of  the  War  Office. 

30 


234 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


secretary  of  Navy. 


"  We  found,  on  inquiring,  that  it  was 
past  office  hours,  so  we  walked  twice  in 
the  pouring  rain  to  Colonel  Ruggles' 
residence.  He  received  us  kindly,  and 
gave  us  a  note  to  General  Wadsworth, 
the  military  governor  of  the  district. 
After  scanning  us  pretty  sharply  he 
gave  us  an  order  on  the  superintendent 
of  the  Soldiers'  Retreat,  the  place  where 
we  stopped  when  we  first  arrived  in 
Washington,  and  from  which  we  were 
giacj  to  retreat.  As  it  was  fully  two 
miles  away,  in  a  drenching  storm,  and  no  umbrellas  even  hinted 
at,  we  determined  to  beat  a  retreat  to  the  War  Department,  and 
see  what  would  turn  up.  We  told  our  story  to  the  night  janitor, 
a  kind  hearted  Irishman,  and  he  at  once  became  interested  in  our 
behalf,  and  obtained  permission  for  us  to  occupy  Adjutant-General 
Thomas's  office  for  the  night.  Mr.  Welles,  with  long,  white 
beard,  the  efficient  secretary  of  the  navy,  was  pointed  out  to  us. 
We  then  stepped  across  the  street  to  a  restaurant  and  enjoyed 
the  first  square  meal  we  have  had  since  leaving  home.  On  re 
turning  to  the  War  Department  we  had  the  great  pleasure  of 
seeing  President  Lincoln  walk  down  the  corridor.  He  carried  an 
old  fashioned  umbrella  big  enough  for  two,  and  appeared  anxious 
and  depressed.  It  was  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill, 
and  the  campaign  against  Richmond  had  ended  in  failure."  During 
these  disheartening  days  Mr.  Lincoln  spent  much  of  his  time  at 
the  war  office. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


235 


At   Headquarters. 


"  I  am  glad  to  report  that  we  slept 
soundly  last  night  in  the  office  of  Uncle 
Sam's  Adjutant-General,  which  we  think 
is  quite  an  honor  for  boys  of  seventeen  ! 
I  am  now  writing  at  General  Pope's 
Headquarters,  No.  232  G  Street,  near 
the  War  Department.  It  is  a  good  place 
to  see  the  leading  officers.  Generals 
Sturgis  and  Banks  called  this  morning. 
General  Pope  is  in  citizen's  dress.  We 
think  we  shall  like  our  duties  first-rate. 
Our  rations  have  been  commuted  at 
seventy-five  cents  per  day,  with  forty 
cents  additional  for  our  services  at  headquarters.  We  are  to 
sleep  here  to  receive  night  dispatches,  and  take  our  meals  close 
by  the  office.  Wildman  and  I  propose  to  make  our  beds  on  the 
carpet  in  the  general's  office.  To-morrow  is  the  glorious  Fourth 
of  July!  How  I  would  enjoy  spending  it  at  home!  There  will 
be  no  public  celebration  here,  but  we  are  to  have  a  holiday,  with 
passes  from  General  Pope  giving  us  permission  to  go  about  the 
city  independent  of  the  provost  guards.  My  pass  reads  as  follows  : 

HEADOJ/ARTERS,  ARMY  OF  VIRGINIA, 
Pat*  Number  /.  WASHINGTON,  July  3,  1862. 

The  bearer,  William  A.  Spicer,  is  employed  as  clerk  at  these   headquarters, 
and  will  be  permitted  to  pass  to  any  part  of  the  city,  at  all  times. 

By  command  of  Major-General  POPE, 

GEORGE  I).  RUGGLES, 
Colonel,  A.  A.   G.,  and  Chief  of  Staff. 


236 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


oh  Dutchy,  will  ye  fight  rnit    Si  -  gel? 


Zwel  glass  o'  la    -    ger.  Yaw!    Yaw.'!   Yaw!!! 


Schweitzer-kase  und  pret-zels.Hurraw!—  raw/  RAW! 


Hurraw!     We  Fights  Mit  Sigel 


I  read  in  the  Provi 
dence  Journal  of  June 
27  :  "  The  appointment 
of  General  Pope  to  the 
command  of  the  Army 
of  Virginia  will  be  re 
garded  as  news  almost 
as  welcome  as  that  of  a 
victory."  "It  does  look 
as  if  he  meant  to  'push 
things.'  He  has  kept 
us  busy  sending  military 
dispatches  in  all  direc 
tions.  What  we  don't  know  about  what  is  going  on,  isn't  worth 
knowing.  When  the  general  arrived,  a  few  days  ago,  he  found 
the  forces  under  Fremont,  Banks,  and  McDowell,  widely  scattered. 
Then  Fremont  resigned,  and  General  Sigel  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  His  two  division  commanders  are  Generals  Schenck  and 
Schurz.  All  this  is  very  gratifying  to  the  German  soldiers.  Sigel 
is  ordered  to  cross  the  Shenandoah  Valley  at  Front  Royal,  and  take 
post  at  Sperryville.  Banks  is  ordered  to  take  up  his  position  at 
Little  Washington,  a  few  miles  northeast  of  that  place.  One  of 
the  divisions  of  McDowell's  Corps  has  been  ordered  forward  to 
Waterloo  Bridge,  on  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  a  few  miles 
southwest  of  Warrenton,  while  his  other  division  is  held  at  Fred- 
ericksburg,  by  direction  of  the  government.  The  total  effective 
force,  including  cavalry,  is  about  fifty  thousand.  The  whole  plan 
of  the  campaign  is  changed  by  the  movement  of  the  Army  of  the 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  237 

Potomac  to  Harrison's  Landing,  which  leaves  the  entire  army  of 
General  Lee  interposed  between  that  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
and  the  Army  of  Virginia." 

"July  6th.  General  McDowell  called  at  headquarters,  this 
morning.  I  spent  nearly  all  the  forenoon  carefully  copying  a 
long  personal  letter  from  General  Pope  to  General  McClellan,  at 
Harrison's  Landing,  James  River,  headquarters  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  fully  stating  his  plans  and  position,  and  the  disposition  of 
the  troops  under  his  command.  He  requests  General  McClellan 
in  all  good  faith  and  earnestness  to  write  him  freely  and  fully  his 
views,  and  to  suggest  any  measures  which  he  thinks  desirable  to 
enable  him  to  cooperate  with  him  and  promises  on  his  part  to  render 
all  assistance  in  his  power.  He  writes,  '  I  am  very  anxious  to  assist 
you  in  your  operations,  and  I  will  run  any  risk  for  that  pur 
pose.'  In  conclusion,  he  says,  'I  therefore  request  you  to  feel  no 
hesitation  in  fully  stating  your  plans,  and,  so  far  as  in  my  power, 
I  will  carry  out  your  wishes  with  all  the  energy,  and  with  all  the 
means  at  my  command.' '  The  only  reply  to  this  cordial  commu 
nication  was  a  very  formal  note  from  General  McClellan,  very 
general  in  its  tenor,  and  proposing  nothing  whatever  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  the  purposes  suggested  by  General  Pope.  It 
became  apparent,  therefore,  that  there  was  to  be  no  harmonious 
cooperation  between  the  Union  commanders  in  Northern  and 
Southern  Virginia,  so  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  campaign. 
"  Later  in  the  day  I  forwarded  a  military  telegram  to  General 
Banks,  stating  that  the  critical  condition  of  affairs  near  Richmond, 
renders  it  highly  probable  that  the  enemy  will  advance  upon 
Washington,  in  force." 


238  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT    „ 

"July  1 5th.  By  direction  of  General  Pope,  I  copied  yesterday, 
an  important  address  to  the  Army  of  Virginia,  for  the  government 
printer.  A  copy  will  be  forwarded  to  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Regiments  and  Battery." 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  or  VIRGINIA, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  14,   1862. 
To  the   Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  Virginia: 

Bv  special  assignment  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  I  have  assumed 
the  command  of  this  army.  I  have  spent  two  weeks  in  learning  your  where 
abouts,  vour  condition,  and  your  wants:  in  preparing  you  for  active  operations, 
and  in  placing  you  in  positions  from  which  you  can  act  promptly  and  to  the  pur 
pose.  These  labors  are  nearly  completed,  and  I  am  about  io  join  you  in  the  field. 

Let  us  understand  each  other.  I  have  come  to  you  from  the  West,  where  we 
have  always  seen  the  backs  of  our  enemies ;  from  an  army  whose  business  it  has 
been  to  seek  the  adversary  and  to  beat  him  when  he  was  found;  whose  policy 
has  been  attack  and  not  defence.  In  but  one  instance  has  the  enemy  been  able 
to  place  our  western  armies  in  defensive  attitude.  I  presume  that  I  have  been 
called  here  to  pursue  the  same  system,  and  to  lead  you  against  the  enemy.  It 
is  my  purpose  to  do  so,  and  that  speedily.  I  am  sure  you  long  for  an  oppor 
tunity  to  win  the  distinction  you  are  capable  of  achieving.  That  opportunity  I 
shall  endeavor  to  give  you.  Meantime  I  desire  you  to  dismiss  from  your  minds 
certain  phrases  which  I  am  sorry  to  find  much  in  vogue  amongst  you.  I  hear 
constantly  of  taking  "  strong  positions  and  holding  them,"  of  "  lines  of  retreat," 
and  of  "  bases  of  supply."  Let  us  discard  such  ideas.  The  strongest  position 
a  soldier  should  desire  to  occupy'  is  one  from  which  he  can  most  easily  advance 
against  the  enemy.  Let  us  study  the  probable  lines  of  retreat  of  our  opponents, 
and  leave  our  own  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Let  us  look  before  us,  and  not 
behind.  Success  and  glory  are  in  the  advance:  disaster  and  shame  lurk  in  the 
rear.  Let  us  act  on  this  understanding,  and  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  your  ban 
ners  shall  be  inscribed  with  many  a  glorious  deed,  and  that  your  names  will  be 

dear  to  your  countrymen  forever. 

JOHN    POPE, 

jSIajor-  General  Commanding. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


239 


HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DEFENCES, 
NORTH  OF  THE  POTOMAC, 

WASHINGTON,  July  15,  1862. 

To  COL.  ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Tent  It  Jtesf  V  K.  I.   I W*. 

By  direction  of  General  Sturgis,  command 
ing,  the  firing  of  blank  cartridges  at  the  forts 
garrisoned  by  the  companies  of  your  regi 
ment  will  be  discontinued. 

Signed,         J.  A.  IIASKIN, 

Lt'cttt.-Col.  A.  D.  C., 

In  charge  of  drjences  north  of  the  Potomac. 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  A.  Haskin. 

The  firing  of  the  big  guns  on  the  forts  had  been  done  for  artil 
lery  practice,  but  it  disturbed  certain  nervous  people  in  Wash 
ington,  and  was  discontinued  for  military  reasons.  One  of  the  men 
wrote  :  "  Colonel  Haskin  is  a  brave  and  accomplished  officer,  who 
left  his  arm  at  Chapultepec,  but  who  still  preserves  a  certain 
cheerful  manliness  which  wins  the  admiration  of  all  who  meet  him." 

Colonel  Shaw's  report  says  :  "The  transfer  from  camp  to  gar 
rison  was  anything  but  agreeable  to  the  regiment.  It  compelled 
us  to  forego  all  hope  of  .perfecting  ourselves  in  infantry  tactics, 
and  to  commence  with  the  rudiments  of  artillery,  with  which  we 
were  entirely  unacquainted.  Commendable  progress  was  soon 
made  with  our  new  arms  ;  but  extended  as  we  were  over  so  long 
a  line  of  fortifications,  the  garrison  at  each  post  was  necessarily 
small,  and  the  duties  severe.  In  addition  to  other  duties,  a  detail 
of  forty  men  was  required  to  report  daily  at  Battery  Vermont,  to 
complete  the  extension  of  that  work." 


240 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"  Building  forts  is  one  of  those 
heroic  but  unobstrusive  occupa 
tions  for  which  our  soldiers  got 
little  credit.  I  took  an  orderly's 
horse  in  front  of  headquarters,  and 
rode  out  to  Tennallytown,  to  see 
the  boys  at  Fort  Pennsylvania. 
They  appeared  glad  to  see  me 
back  again.  They  say  that  be 
tween  heavy  artillery  drill,  gar 
risoning  old  forts,  and  building 

Outfit  for  Battery  Vermont.  new   QIICS,    their  time   is   pretty  Well 

used  up.  You  should  see  them,  hand-spike  in  hand,  heaving  at 
the  wheels  of  those  forty-two-pounders.  The  latest  conundrum  is, 
'Why  are  the  boys  of  the  Tenth  in  such  good  company  now,  at 
the  forts?'  'Because  they  are  closely  associated  with  so  many 
big  guns  ! '  But  they  say  they  would  rather  heave  at  those  heavy 
guns,  or  make  another  long  tramp  into  Virginia,  and  even  fight  a 
little  than  to  wear  their  lives  away  these  hot  days,  shovelling 
sand.  There  doesn't  appear  to  be  anything  very  exciting  or  in 
spiring  about  it,  and  the  patriotism  of  the  boys  is  at  a  low  ebb. 
Some  of  them  wear  a  badge  made  of  lead,  consisting  of  a  pick-axe, 
spade,  and  broom  in  combination,  to  represent  their  new  employ 
ment  at  Battery  Vermont.  It  has  been  very  warm  at  the  fort.  In 
one  of  the  tents  the  thermometer  registered  102  degrees,  so  that  you 
can  imagine  how  nice  and  cool  it  is  here.  The  boys  are  all  pretty 
well  browned,  and  a  good  many,  I  noticed,  will  go  home  adorned 
with  a  beard  which  they  did  not  support  when  they  left  home." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  24! 

Company  A,  Corp.  Albert  C.  Winsor,  furnishes  the  following 
interesting  article  on  "The  Fourth,"  at  Fort  Franklin:  "  The 
anniversary  of  National  Independence  was  made  a  marked  occa 
sion  at  Fort  Franklin  by  a  presentation  of  colors  to  Company  A, 
Capt.  William  E.  Taber,  the  gift  of  the  ladies  of  the  Fifth  Ward 
in  Providence.  Comrade  Wendell  P.  Hood  presented  the  flag,  in 
a  neat  and  patriotic  speech,  Captain  Taber  gracefully  acknowl 
edging  the  gift  in  behalf  of  the  company.  Patriotic  speeches  were 
also  made  by  First  Lieut.  Joseph  L.  Bennett,  Jr.,  Company  A  ; 
Captains  H.  B.  Cady,  Company  E  ;  William  M.  Hale,  Company  I, 
and  others,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  the  flag  was  hoisted  to  the  head 
of  the  staff  greeted  by  nine  rousing  cheers  and  the  singing  of  the 
'Star  Spangled  Banner.'  This  will  be  a  memorable  day  to  the 
members  of  Company  A,  also,  from  the  fact  that  a  large  sized  box 
arrived  at  the  fort  last  night,  well  filled  with  lemons,  sugar, 
tonics,  cigars,  and  tobacco,  the  gift  of  the  store-keepers  and 
friends  in  the  vicinity  of  South  and  Point  streets,  to  enable  the 
'Blue  Pointers'  to  celebrate,  and  remind  them  that  they  were  not 
forgotten  by  the  friends  at  home.  The  boys  had  remembered 
their  part,  and  after  dinner  the  camp  was  visited  by  a  party  of  the 
Seventy-first  New  York  Regiment,  who  were  encamped  about 
two  miles  from  Fort  Franklin  ;  the  comrades  were  welcomed,  and 
generously  entertained,  toasts  were  given,  and  the  camp  re 
sounded  with  patriotic  songs  ;  fun  and  sociability  were  then  in 
order  and  greatly  enjoyed,  as  many  of  the  boys  will  testify  by 
the  mementos  that  were  exchanged  in  caps,  buttons,  and  figures. 
As  the  guests  left  the  camp  nine  cheers  were  given  for  New  York 
and  Rhode  Island." 

31 


242  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

The  following  letter  of  acknowledgment  from  the  chaplain,  to 
the  ladies  of  the  Fifth  Ward,  will  be  interesting  : 

FOKT  PENNSYLVANIA,  D.  C.,  July  17,  1862. 
REV.  C.  H.  FAY,  Providence. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  :  Please  excuse  the  long  delay  in  answering  yours, 
which  accompanied  the  beautiful  standard  presented  to  Company  A  (Captain 
William  E.  Taber),  by  the  ladies  of  our  Fifth  Ward. 

The  delay  has  arisen  from  a  little  misapprehension,  the  captain  supposing 
that  I  had  answered  it,  while  I  thought  he  had  done  so. 

As  the  ladies  have  heard,  a  debilitating  illness  made  it  impossible  for  me  to 
go  to  Fort  Franklin  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  present  the  standard,  as  desired  by 
you,  in  their  behalf. 

It  was  a  grievous  disappointment  not  to  have  that  privilege;  although,  as  far 
as  the  company  and  the  donors  were  concerned,  nothing  was  lost;  Mr.  Hood, 
a  member  of  Company  A,  having  made  the  presentation  in  terms  which  the 
ladies  would  have  regarded  as  eminently  befitting  the  occasion. 

They  may  rely  on  it,  that  nothing  since  we  left  home  has  given  Company  A 
so  much  pleasure  as  this  token  of  remembrance  and  of  confidence  from  their 
lady  friends  of  the  Fifth  Ward. 

I  will  guarantee,  moreover,  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  will  never  be  dis 
honored  at  the  hands  of  that  noble  company. 

I  knew  them  at  home.  I  have  known  them  far  more  intimately  here;  and  I 
assure  you  that  both  officers  and  men  are,  as  a  body,  of  the  right  stamp  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  beautiful  emblem  of  our  country's  liberty  and  greatness. 

Please  express  to  the  lady  donors  the  thanks  of  the  company ;  assure  them 
that  their  gift  is  appreciated,  and  will  be  sacredly  preserved  as  an  honored 
trust;  and  if  borne  into  battle,  will  be  defended  to  the  last  — upborne  by  no 
coward's  hands. 

Please,  also,  to  thank  the  ladies  for  the  honor  they  conferred  on  myself,  in 
selecting  me  to  make  the  presentation :  and,  believe  me, 

Ever,  sincerely,  yours, 

A.  HUNTINGDON   CLAPP, 

Chaplain    Tenth  R.   /.   Voh. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  243 

Company  B,  Fort  Pennsylvania,  July  4th  :  "Perhaps  you  would 
like  to  know,"  wrote  comrade  James  F.  Field,  "how  we  cele 
brated  the  day.  The  first  thing  was  breakfast,  consisting  of  beef 
steak,  white  bread,  and  coffee.  At  half  past  nine,  Companies  B 
and  K  were  formed  in  line  and  marched  to  the  colonel's  head 
quarters  to  listen  to  a  literary  feast.  An  oration  was  delivered 
by  Joshua  M.  Addeman,  and  a  poem  was  read  by  Henry  S. 
Latham,  both  of  Company  B.  After  the  exercises  we  had  a  very 
spirited  speech  from  Mr.  Sheffield,  one  of  our  representatives 
in  Congress.  Soon  after  we  were  dismissed,  a  large  box  of  good 
things  arrived  from  the  Ellsworth  Phalanx  (High  School  com 
pany).  It  was  quickly  opened  and  the  contents  were  very  much 
appreciated.  Your  box  was  also  very  welcome,  especially  the 
cookies.  After  a  few  minutes  not  a  vestige  of  them  remained. 
They  tasted  tip-top,  much  better  than  the  first  lot,  which  got 
mixed  up  with  the  catsup  from  the  broken  bottle.  At  half  past 
two  dinner  was  served.  Roast  beef,  potatoes  with  gravy,  beets, 
onions,  peas,  and,  to  crown  all,  lemonade — and  the  best  of  all  was, 
there  was  enough  to  'go  around,  and  around.' 

"  It  was  intended  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  should 
be  read  as  a  part  of  the  exercises,  but  it  had  to  be  omitted,  as  one 
of  our  company,  Nathan  H.  Baker,  rode  all  over  the  neighboring 
country  in  vain,  to  procure  a  copy.  He  did  at  last  succeed  in  find 
ing  one  framed,  but  it  was  in  such  fine  print  that  he  gave  it  up  as  a 
bad  job.  At  twelve  o'clock  a  salute  was  fired  by  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Battery.  During  the  day  and  night  previous  there  was 
firing  from  the  forts  on  the  other  side  of  the  Potomac,  but  we  have 
had  orders  not  to  fire  any  more,  for  military  reasons." 


244  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"Toward  night,  yesterday,  July  3d,  we  had  one  of  the  most 
terrific  thunder-storms  I  ever  saw.  I  happened  to  be  out  in  it 
for  a  few  minutes,  so  I  know,  and  got  completely  soaked  through. 
The  wind  blew  almost  a  hurricane.  You  probably  are  aware  that 
in  a  fort  the  magazine  is  in  the  centre,  and  that  the  top  is  some 
what  higher  than  the  surrounding  embankment.  A  guard  or 
picket  is  stationed  on  this  magazine  all  the  time.  In  order  to 
hold  the  fort,  during  the  terrific  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  he  had 
to  stick  his  bayonet  in  the  ground  the  whole  length,  and  then 
brace  himself  against  it.  As  it  was,  he  came  near  being  blown 
off  the  magazine.  But  he  held  on  all  through  the  pelting  storm, 
which  continued  at  least  half  an  hour." 

Mrs.  Partington  says,  she  pities  the  poor  soldiers  who  have  to 
stay  out  on  pickets  in  tJie  scorching  rain,  especially  when  the  pickets 
are  driven  in  ! 

"  Companies  B  and  K,"  wrote  Private  Edwin  B.  Fiske,  "are 
still  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  we  can  say  in  the  language  of 
a  distinguished  statesman,  *  We  still  live  ! '  Others  have  written 
and  told  you  of  the  glories  of  camp-life  and  its  romantic  associa 
tions,  which  are  welded  in  a  soldier's  mind,  never  to  be  erased ; 
and  he  who  is  permitted  to  return  to  his  home  after  the  conflict 
is  over,  will  have  as  many  stories  to  tell,  and  stirring  incidents  to 
relate  to  fire  the  hearts  of  the  young,  as  fired  our  hearts  when 
listening  to  the  tales  of  the  old  Revolutionary  patriots,  when  our 
fathers  waded  through  blood  and  fire  to  rescue  our  country  from 
the  tyrannical  heel  of  Great  Britain.  And  more,  we  labor  to 
secure  the  establishment  of  our  government  upon  a  broader  and 
freer  system  than  has  heretofore  existed." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  245 

Com.-Sergt.  James  O.  Swan  was  a 
capable  and  hard  working  official. 
His  constant  care  and  vigilance 
helped  bring  about  a  much  needed 
reform  in  the  quality  of  our  rations. 
He  had  then,  the  same  quiet,  con 
vincing  way,  to  make  things  move 
right  along  —  that  distinguish  him 
now  in  his  official  duties  at  the  City 
Hall.  Some  of  the  boys  thought  on  com.-sorgt.  james  o.  swan. 

account  of  his  stern  and  dignified  air  that  he  must  have  a  hard 
heart.  They  were  mistaken  ;  he  always  had  the  interests  of  the 
regiment  in  mind,  and  demanded  the  fullest  consideration  for  the 
men  from  others,  to  the  extent  of  his  authority. 

Private  Fiske  continues  :  "  Allow  me  to  say  a  few  things  about 
ourselves  in  and  around  Fort  Pennsylvania.  The  fort  is  built 
upon  a  hill,  in  a  commanding  position,  and  if  properly  manned 
could  not  easily  be  taken.  General  McCall's  division  was  en 
camped  in  this  vicinity  last  winter.  These  troops  were  badly  cut 
up  in  the  late  battles  before  Richmond.  Fort  Pennsylvania  is  now 
garrisoned  by  Companies  B  and  K,  of  our  regiment,  and  the  Tenth 
Light  Battery.  The  avenue  of  Company  B  is  called  Dyer  Avenue, 
and  that  of  Company  K,  Low's  Avenue,  in  honor  of  the  company 
captains.  Here  you  find  *  University  Hall'  with  the  students 
from  'Brown;'  the  'Martin  Box,'  named  after  the  chief  of  the 
mess  ;  '  Tiger's  Retreat,  &c.  As  you  pass  down  Dyer  Avenue,  the 
first  tent  is  that  of  Orderly  Phillips,  called  by  the  boys  the  '  Dio- 
clesian  Tower.'  It  appears  that  the  'orderly'  used  to  advertise 


246  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT. 

his  store  near  Grace  Church,  Providence,'  'as  the  great  skate  and 
floral  depot  directly  opposite  the  Dioclesian  Tower.'  He  is  a 
very  lively  and  efficient  officer  (just  the  same),  and  has  a  prompt 
way  of  calling  the  men  into  line  with  the  order,  'Fall  in  B's  !  ' 
'  Lively  B's  ! '  On  the  opposite  side  of  Dyer  Avenue  you  see  the 
sign,  'Whang  Hotel/  the  quarters  of  the  High  School  mess, 
Charles  L.  Stafford,  sergeant.  The  ages  range  from  sixteen  to 
twenty.  At  dress  parade  last  night,  General  Pope's  stirring  ad 
dress  was  read,  and  the  resignation  of  our  quartermaster,  Lieut. 
James  H.  Armington,  with  a  general  order  from  Colonel  Bliss 
complimenting  him  for  the  efficient  management  of  his  depart 
ment.  Lieut.  William  C.  Chace,  of  Company  B,  is  now  acting- 
quartermaster,  and  is  a  model  one.  We  live  much  better  than 
we  did  at  Camp  Frieze ;  there  it  was  tough  enough  !  Some  of 
the  tents  look  more  like  express  offices  than  anything  else,  by 
the  number  of  boxes  piled  up  in  them,  showing  that  our  boys 
are  not  forgotten  by  the  friends  at  home." 

Occasionally  the  opening  of  a  box  revealed  an  unwise  selection, 
or  careless  packing.  A  case  was  opened  one  morning,  smooth 
and  polished  without,  and  neatly  jointed,  when  an  overpowering 
odor  filled  the  air,  and  drove  everybody  from  the  neighborhood. 
The  intolerable  stench  proceeded  from  "  concentrated  chicken," 
which  had  been  badly  prepared.  The  box  had  been  for  some  time 
on  the  journey,  and  the  nicely  cooked  "  concentrated  chicken," 
had  become  a  mass  of  corruption.  "Be  Jabbers!"  said  Irish 
Jimmy,  the  drayman,  as  he  wheeled  the  box  away,  "I  hope  the 
leddies — God  bless  'em!  won't  send  enny  more  of  their  'conse 
crated  chicken '  this  way,  for  it  smells  too  loud  intirely  !  " 


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248 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"While  Companies  B  and  K  were  encamped  at 
Fort  Pennsylvania,"  wrote  Corp.  Joseph  E.  Handy, 
of  Company  K,  "my  friend  and  comrade,  Carlo 
Mauran,  says,  *  Corporal,  I  have  found  a  hen-house, 
with  hens  in  it.  Will  you  go  with  me  to-night,  and 
visit  the  hen-roost?'  I  told  him  I  would  go  with 
him,  so  after  dark  we  started  out,  through  the  brush. 
'This  is  somethin'  like  huntin'  squirrels,  ain't  it/ 
said  Carlo,  as  we  groped  our  way  along,  but  at  length 
we  arrived  at  the  coop.  I  went  in,  while  Carlo 
stood  guard  outside.  It  was  a  dark  night,  and 
darker  still  inside  the  hen-roost,  so  I  felt  round  all 
over  the  place,  but  couldn't  find  anything.  Then  I 
stooped  clown,  and  felt  along  on  the  ground,  and 
L.ght  after  "Taps!"  found  a  large  hen  hovering  a  brood  of  chickens. 
The  hen  is  a  kind  mother,  but  still  she  sits  on  her  children  !  I 
took  the  hen  and  passed  her  out  to  Carlo,  who  retired  a  short  dis 
tance,  wrung  her  neck  and  plucked  her  feathers.  We  then  re 
turned  to  our  tent,  and,  after  dressing  the  fowl,  we  got  one  of  the 
cook's  mess  kettles,  and  began  cutting  it  up  to  cook,  when  '  taps ' 
were  sounded  ;  but  we  kept  on,  just  the  same,  peeling  our  pota 
toes,  and  then  seasoning  the  stew.  Soon  Capt.  Frank  Low  came 
along  in  front  of  the  tent.  Tut  out  that  light,'  he  said.  Carlo 
replied,  'Corporal  Handy  is  sick!  '  'All  right,'  said  the  captain, 
'be  as  quiet  as  possible.'  'Yes,  sir,'  said  Carlo.  When  all  was 
done  and  ready  to  cook,  we  put  out  the  light.  (A  bayonet  stuck 
in  the  ground,  holding  a  candle  in  the  socket,  provided  us  with  a 
convenient  and  portable  light.)  In  the  morning  we  turned  the 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  249 

chicken  over  to  the  company  cook,  George  A.  Whelden,  and  he 
made  us  a  first-class  chicken  stew.  I  then  took  a  portion  of  it  up 
to  Captain  Low,  steaming  hot,  for  his  breakfast.  He  scanned  it 
carefully,  looked  at  me,  and  said,  '  So  this  accounts  for  your  sick 
ness  last  night,  doesn't  it?'  I  smiled  audibly  in  the  affirmative. 
'Well,'  said  the  captain,  'whenever  you  happen  to  be  taken  sick 
again  for  chicken  stew,  let  me  know,  and  I  will  let  you  keep  your 
light  burning  as  long  as  you  wish  ! ' 

This  story  from  Company  K  is  almost  as  good  as  that  of  a  sol 
dier  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  encamped  near  some  country 
village,  like  Tennallytown,  who  trained  his  cat  so  that  she  would 
go  regularly  to  a  neighboring  grocery  and  steal  mackerel  for  him 
out  of  a  tub.  She  didn't  lie  about  it,  though. 

"  Dr.  Briggs,  United  States  Medical  Inspector,  paid  us  an 
official  visit  yesterday,  examining  closely,  our  tents,  and  the 
grounds,  to  see  if  everything  was  kept  neat  and  clean.  He 
seemed  apparently  well-pleased  and  satisfied,  for  he  said  that 
everything  was  O  K  around  here. 

"A  few  days  ago  one  of  the  teamers  of  Company  C,  Captain 
Vose,  had  his  horse  run  away,  and  by  some  means  got  entangled 
in  the  reins,  and  fell  from  his  horse.  One  of  the  wheels  passed 
over  his  head,  bruising  it  badly ;  the  other  passed  over  his 
shoulder,  breaking  his  collar  bone.  At  first,  his  life  was  despaired 
of,  but  by  the  skill  of  Dr.  Wilcox,  he  is  getting  better." 

"  Our  new  rifles  have  arrived,  and  the  remainder  of  the  clothing 
due  us.  We  have  built  quite  a  dam  across  a  small  stream  near 
our  camp,  which  affords  a  nice  place  for  bathing  (with  the  water 
up  to  our  knees),  which  is  a  great  luxury." 

32 


250  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"  Fort  Alexander,  July  23d.  In  arranging  our  new  camp," 
wrote  Captain  Hale,  "some  generalship  was  required  in  selecting 
the  best  location,  both  on  sanitary  and  cautionary  grounds.  If 
we  were  quartered  inside  the  fort,  we  should  be  less  exposed 
to  marauding  parties  of  the  enemy  who  could  only  get  at  us  after 
passing  the  abattis,  ditch,  and  parapet.  But  if  we  were  compelled 
to  run  at  last,  we  should  have  no  where  to  run  to  except  to  run 
away,  and  that  is  sometimes  considered  discreditable  in  good  sol 
diers.  Besides,  a  close  inspection  of  the  barracks  showed  that 
marauding  parties  already  held  possession  of  them,  and  that  they 
made  up  in  numbers  what  they  lacked  in  size. 

"On  the  other  hand  if  we  had  pitched  our  camps  outside  the 
fort  and  were  compelled  to  evacuate  it,  we  could  run  into  the  fort, 
and  if  finally  compelled  to  run  from  there,  we  should  become  so 
accustomed  to  running  as  to  do  it  with  perfect  ease  and  consider 
able  rapidity,  and  thus  secure  a  double  base  of  retreat. 

"  So  we  chose  for  our  quarters  a  beautiful  grassy  slope,  over 
looking  the  broad  Potomac,  fringed  with  wild  flowers,  and  com 
manding  a  fine  view  of  the  hills  and  vales  of  Virginia.  Here  we 
set  up  our  tents,  and  our  tin-ware,  and  thanked  God  that  we  had 
found  such  comfortable  quarters  after  all  our  weary  wanderings. 
But  human  happiness  is  liable  to  sudden  reverses,  and  ours  did 
not  differ  from  the  common  lot  of  man,  for  we  were  scarcely 
settled  in  our  new  quarters,  when  we  discovered  that  they  had 
previously  been  selected  as  a  place  of  meeting  of  an  immense 
entomological  convention,  with  delegates  from  every  part  of  the 
world  of  bugs.  The  convention  holds  uninterrupted  session  of 
twenty-four  hours'  duration,  the  importance  of  their  business  being 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  251 

such  as  to  admit  no  intermission.  In  the  discharge  of  their  duties, 
they  enter  our  noses,  skirmish  about  our  ears,  and  commit  forays 
upon  our  unprotected  eyes.  Having  discovered  that  shirts  and 
drawers  are  not  the  natural  covering  of  man,  they  penetrate  their 
recesses,  and  institute  minute  examinations,  and  no  doubt  make 
elaborate  reports  upon  the  formation  and  texture  of  the  human 
skin.  Many  of  them,  like  other  distinguished  savants,  fall  mar 
tyrs  to  the  cause  of  truth,  especially  when  they  turn  their  atten 
tion  to  the  nature  and  quality  of  our  food,  in  which  branch  of 
inquiry  they  are  as  zealous  as  the  best  of  our  human  conventions. 

"  Occasionally,  I  take  the  liberty  to  interfere  with  their  pro 
ceedings,  by  covering  such  parts  of  the  anatomy  as  are  particularly 
open  to  their  inspection.  I  am  not  versed  in  the  fly  dialect  but 
am  fully  satisfied  that  on  such  occasions  they  make  use  of  very 
profane  language.  For  I  can  hear  a  confused  buzzing,  that  sounds 
like  '  Here  he  is,  confound  him,  if  we  could  only  get  at  him,'  '  He's 
playing  'possum,  blast  his  eyes,'  etc.,  etc.,  when  the  crowd  retire 
in  disgust  to  visit  my  fat  lieutenant,  who  presents  a  much  broader 
and  deeper  field  of  inquiry  than  I  do. 

"At  dusk,  they  are  relieved  by  the  moths,  crickets,  and  wood- 
ticks,  and  other  insects,  nameless  and  innumerable.  The  crickets 
remind  one  of  the  female  orators  at  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  by 
making  a  noise  entirely  disproportionate  to  their  size. 

"Since  the  settlement  here  of  Companies  E  and  I,  we  have 
been  practising  at  heavy  artillery  and  rifle  drill.  I  suppose  the 
two  are  combined  to  compensate  for  each  other  and  establish  a 
general  average.  We  handle  the  heavy  guns  in  the  morning  to 
settle  our  breakfasts,  and  the  rifles  in  the  afternoon  to  give  us  an 


252  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

appetite  for  supper.  Both  proceedings  are  eminently  effectual. 
In  regard  to  the  big  guns,  the  amount  of  sponging  and  ramming, 
heaving,  pointing  and  firing  that  we  have  accomplished,  ought  to 
be  sufficient  to  quell  a  moderate  size  rebellion,  if  done  in  earnest." 

Colonel  Shaw  says  :  "  The  exceeding  kindness  of  Col.  J.  A. 
Haskin,  Inspector  of  Fortifications,  in  instructing  our  officers  and 
men  in  their  new  duties  should  be  honorably  mentioned.  I  have 
seen  him  leave  his  desk  and  go  to  the  door  to  show  a  private  sol 
dier  his  way  of  doing  it." 

"  Perhaps  the  most  instructive,  if  not  agreeable  feature  of 
camp  life  at  Fort  Alexander,  is  displayed  in  the  administration 
of  the  culinary  department.  The  'Army  Regulations,'  allow  a 
cook,  but  unfortunately  they  don't  furnish  one,  so  that  each 
'  mess '  is  obliged  to  look  out  for  its  own.  We  found  ours  in  a 
sable  gentleman  of  the  African  persuasion,  who  came  to  us  on 
a  broiling  July  day,  with  an  oleaginous  smile.  We  had  been  living 
for  some  time,  'at  loose  ends,'  and  thought  him  a  valuable  acqui 
sition.  He  was  said  to  be  highly  recommended,  but  I  have  never 
been  able  to  ascertain  who  said  it.  He  could  cook  anything  from 
an  egg  to  an  elephant ;  either  with  or  without  fire  or  water.  We 
have  not  had  a  chance  to  try  him  on  the  elephant,  but  he  has 
certainly  failed  on  the  egg.  There  is  a  pleasurable  excitement 
and  delightful  uncertainty  in  our  relations  with  the  cook.  It  is 
like  Tom  Pinch  and  his  sister  in  their  first  efforts  at  housekeep 
ing.  You  never  know  whether  your  beef-steak  pudding  will  turn 
out  a  pudding  or  something  else.  In  our  case,  it  frequently 
doesn't  'turn  out'  at  all.  Judging  from  the  results  accomplished, 
I  should  say  that  our  cook  followed  some  simple  receipts  not  laid 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  253 

down  in  the  ordinary  cook-book.  The  following  are  quoted  for 
the  benefit  of  the  uninitiated  : 

"Eggs  are  liable  to  be  soft,  unless  boiled  from  five  to  fifteen 
minutes.  (If  the  cook  is  busy,  they  may  remain  a  while  longer.) 

"  Fried  eggs  should  be  done  black  on  the  under  side,  to  give 
them  a  relish. 

"  Salt  cod-fish  is  freshened  by  being  soaked  in  water.  All 
aqueous  exposures  are  therefore  to  be  avoided. 

"Corn-bread,  hoe-cake,  johnny-cake,  and  corn  dodgers,  are 
made  of  meal  and  water,  carefully  dried  by  a  slow  fire.  Any  sud 
den  heat  is  liable  to  brown  them,  and  is  therefore  to  be  avoided. 

"Army  beef  is  made  tender  by  long  boiling,  and  is  thereby 
made  eatable.  But,  as  it  is  not  designed  to  be  eaten,  it  should  be 
only  half  cooked. 

"It  is  the  chief  duty  of  the  cook  to  look  out  for  number  one, 
and  to  see  that  volunteers  do  not  become  enervated  by  delicate 
viands.  He  will  therefore  devour  all  tit-bits  and  choice  morsels, 
to  keep  them  out  of  the  way  of  temptation. 

"Our  cook  is  great  at  foraging.  Foraging  is  procuring  neces 
sary  subsistence  by  buying  when  you  can't  steal  it,  or  stealing 
when  you  can't  buy  it, — or  stealing,  per  se,  whether  you  can  buy 
it  or  not.  The  last  is  the  favorite  mode  in  this  section.  Starting 
off  after  an  early  breakfast,  the  cook  is  gone  for  the  best  part  of 
the  day,  foraging.  The  result  of  a  day's  active  exertion  may  be 
summed  up  in  a  pair  of  meagre  chickens  and  a  lank  cod-fish. 
The  chickens  are  put  into  a  coop  to  fatten,  but  after  being  care 
fully  and  bountifully  fed,  there  is  just  enough  of  them  to  flavor 
a  stew.  By  some  singular  casualties  they  are  generally  minus 


254  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

legs  or  wings,  or  both,  when  served  by  our  cook,  who  is  never 
able  to  account  for  the  deficiency.  I  am  happy  to  say,  however, 
that  no  such  misfortune  befalls  the  cod-fish,  which  always  come  to 
the  table,  complete  in  all  its  parts.  One  specimen  of  our  cook's 
biscuits  will  suffice.  We  tried  one,  and  then  had  the  balance 
piled  up  like  cannon  balls.  If  not  used  as  projectiles  against  the 
enemy,  they  will  be  distributed  among  the  various  cooking  schools 
of  the  country,  carefully  labelled,  '  Not  to  be  eaten  on  pain  of 
death.'  Early  applicants  can  secure  choice  specimens  by  paying 
freight  and  charges.  N.  B. — Two  postage  stamps  enclosed,  will 
entitle  the  sender  to  the  best  specimens,  with  the  cook  thrown  in. 

"  We  are  still  practising  artillery  drill,  rifle  drill,  battalion  drill, 
company  drill,  and  squad  drill,  and  if  we  don't  succeed  in  coming 
home  thoroughly  drilled,  we  shall  certainly  be  partially  bored'' 

Battery  Vermont,  July  2Oth,  Corp.  B.  F.  Pabodie,  wrote :  "All 
our  visitors  concur  in  saying  that  Company  H  has  the  most  in 
viting  spot  of  any  occupied  by  the  regiment.  Our  little  battery 
of  three  32-pounders,  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  roads 
leading  to  the  Potomac,  and  about  half  a  mile  from  it.  It  is  built 
partially  on  the  site  of  an  old  stone  house.  From  the  appearance 
of  the  ruins,  the  growth  of  shrubbery,  and  the  remains  of  a  large 
stone  barn  below  it,  it  must  have  been  a  country  seat  of  no  mean 
pretensions.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road,  stands  our  quarters, 
consisting  of  one  frame,  and  two  log-houses.  A  yard  in  front,  is 
nicely  shaded  by  two  rows  of  locust  trees.  This  is  a  part  of  the 
aqueduct  property,  and  belongs  to  the  government.  The  reservoir 
from  which  the  supply  of  water  from  Washington  and  George 
town  is  taken,  lies  near  us  at  the  foot  of  the  hill." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


-00 


Fortunately  a 
fine  sketch  of 
"  Headquarters, 
Company  H,"  is 
still  preserved, 
engraved  by 
Sergt.  Charles 
P.  Gay,  on  the 
bottom  of  his 
mess-pan.  It  is 
evident  that 
his  hand  was  as 
steady  as  at  the 
target  shoot  of 
the  Burnside 
Zouaves  in  Au 
gust,  i86i,when 

he  bore  off  the  first  prize,  a  silver  cup,  which  was  presented  to 
him  by  Governor  Sprague.  He  has  a  good  record  as  a  soldier, 
serving  not  only  in  the  Tenth,  but  afterwards  as  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Fourteenth  Rhode  Island  Heavy  Artillery. 

Resuming,  Corporal  Pabodie  wrote  :  "  The  work  of  enlarging 
Battery  Vermont  has  been  commenced.  Details  of  men  from 
each  company,  amounting  to  forty,  have  been  at  work  for  several 
days,  and  when  the  addition  is  finished,  and  another  32-pounder 
mounted,  the  battery  will  present  quite  a  formidable  appearance. 
Our  diet  at  present  consists  mainly  of  blackberries  and  milk." 

Sergeant  Gay  tells  the  following  story  of  their  milk  supply : 


A  Memorable  Mess-Pan. 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"Job  Armstrong  was  one 
of  the  advance  guards  of 
Company  H  who  first  took 
possession  of  Battery  Ver 
mont.  He  was  also  a  great 
milk  forager,  and  had  a  won 
derful  faculty  in  deluding  the 
cows  of  the  neighborhood 
into  the  belief  that  he  was 
one  of  their  own  calves.  A 
cow  would  stand  placidly, 
chewing  her  cud,  while  Job 
Mllking  the  Cow-  with  a  persuasive  '  So  bossy,' 

would  milk  with  all  his  might.  One  day  after  he  and  another 
comrade  had  filled  pails  and  canteens,  and  drank  the  milk  foam 
ing  fresh  from  the  cow,  they  hurried  back  to  camp,  and  concealed 
a  large  pan  of  milk  under  Job's  bunk.  Soon  the  farmer's  wife 
arrived  and  complained  to  Captain  Duckworth,  that  some  of  his 
men  had  milked  her  cows.  Nobody  knew  anything  about  it,  and 
Job,  who  had  overheard  everything,  declared  with  much  warmth, 
that  he  didn't  believe  there  was  a  man  in  Company  H  mean 
enough  to  do  such  a  thing,  but  he'd  make  it  his  business  to  go 
through  every  tent,  and  if  he  found  anybody  with  milk  in  his 
possession  he  would  report  him.  Thus  assured,  the  woman  de 
parted.  A  few  minutes  later  Job  called  me  to  the  orderly's  quar 
ters,  and  there  under  the  bunk  was  a  large  pan  full  of  milk. 
'Now,'  says  Job,  '  I  want  you  to  help  me  get  rid  of  it,  among  the 
boys;  they'll  find  it  just  bully  with  their  blackberries." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  257 

Let  us  visit  the  room  occupied  by  Orderly-Sergeant  Winchester 
and  his  mess.  "They  have  fitted  it  up  in  imitation  of  a  steamboat 
cabin,  with  bunks  arranged  one  above  the  other,  several  tiers  high. 
One  night,  recently,  a  private  was  allowed  to  occupy  the  upper 
berth,  and  as  he  slept  he  dreamed  that  he  was  peacefully  reposing 
in  his  own  cot  at  home,  where  he  heard  voices  appealing  to  him  : 

'  Stay,  stay  with  us, — rest,  them  art  weary  and  worn ! 
And  fain  was  their  war-broken  soldier  to  stay  : — 

But  just  at  that  moment  he  started  up  and  rolled  out  of  the  top 
berth,  and  struck  the  floor  with  a  sound  that  aroused  the  other 
sleepers  with  the  impression  that  a  bomb-shell  had  been  dropped 
in  their  midst,  or  that  Stonewall  Jackson  was  upon  them.  The 
poor  disappointed  private  felt  hurt  in  more  respects  than  one, 
and  murmured  something  about  'being  at  home,'  and  'seeing 
stars.'  After  a  vigorous  rubbing  of  his  sore  places,  he  climbed 
back  into  his  perch,  and  turned  over  against  the  wall.  The  next 
day  he  was  able  to  report  for  servfce,  and  went  through  the  usual 
drill,  but  evidently  with  a  good  deal  of  difficulty. 

"  There  is  an  interesting  member  of  the  orderly's  mess  who  goes 
by  the  name  of  Richard  Swiveller,  Esq.  He  it  is  who  soothes 
the  orderly's  troubled  nerves  (when  disturbed  after  the  day's 
arduous  labors),  with  the  musical  notes  of  the  flute. 

"  The  extreme  hot  weather,  the  numerous  drills,  and  the  work  at 
Battery  Vermont  begins  to  affect  the  troops  unfavorably.  The 
health  of  the  regiment  is  not  as  good.  Hospital  accommodations 
have  been  largely  increased,  but  the  sicknesses  do  not  appear  to 
be  alarming  ;  they  are  generally  slow  fevers. 

33 


258  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"  Since  we  have  become 
settled  here,  many  letters  and 
delicacies  from  home,  have 
continued  to  pour  in  upon  us. 
We  have  received  from  the 
Burnside  Zouaves  two  dry 
goods  packing  boxes,  and  one 
pickle-keg  full  of  things  good 
to  eat  and  to  wear.  The  ex-  Home  M'ssases- 

press  charges  are  enormous,  but  the  disposition  here  appears  to 
be  to  charge  soldiers  fifty  per  cent,  more  than  anybody  else. 
Captain  Duckworth  is  a  soldierly  and  efficient  officer,  and  under 
his  direction  we  have  made  quite  an  advance  in  company  and 
also  artillery  drill.  The  other  night  one  of  our  sentinels  fired  at 
what  was  supposed  to  be  an  approaching  rebel,  but  which  proved, 
on  investigation,  to  be  an  innocent  weed  on  the  parapet,  which 
nodded  and  bowed  to  the  guard,  as  it  was  swayed  by  the  night 
wind.  Governor  Sprague  made  us  a  flying  visit  yesterday.  Secre 
tary  of  War  Stanton  and  family,  are  spending  the  summer  near 
by,  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Blackberries  are  in  great  quan 
tity  on  the  surrounding  hills,  while  fish  and  eels  in  the  canal  and 
reservoir  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  varying  our  otherwise  rather 
monotonous  life.  There  is  a  nice  fruit  orchard  right  across  the 
road  where  we  can  get  our  pie  apples  for  nothing.  Next  door, 
the  farmer  never  locks  up  his  kindling  wood.  In  fact,  it's  a  very 
good  neighborhood.  One  of  our  number,  a  mason  by  trade,  has 
built  a  brick  oven,  in  which  we  have  already  had  baked  beans  and 
brown  bread,  and  bread  and  hasty  puddings." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


259 


"  Fort  De  Russy  the  headquarters  of  Company  D,"  says  Lieuten 
ant  DeWolf,  "is  situated  two  miles  east  of  Tennallytown,  upon  a 
high  knoll  in  the  midst  of  farms  cultivated  with  more  than  usual 
care.  With  a  short  amount  of  labor,  guided  by  engineering 
talent  of  a  high  order,  our  camp  was  first  laid  out  upon  an  adja- 


Fott  De  Russy,  from  the  West. 

cent  knoll,  tents  pitched,  floors  leveled,  trenches  dug,  everything 
in  apple-pie  order,  when  a  one-armed  gentleman  of  critical  aspect, 
known  as  Colonel  Haskin,  of  the  Engineers,  come  round,  and 
told  us  to  move  nearer  the  fort.  Now  it  seemed  to  us  that  in 
case  of  attack  we  could  get  there  at  least  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
could,  but  the  colonel  didn't  think  so,  and  somehow  the  minority 
rule  prevailed.  We  now  occupy  a  narrow  terrace  just  under  the 
walls,  very  strong,  very  stumpy,  and  rather  buggy.  Before  many 


260 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


hours,  however,  the  stones  had  been  removed,  the  stumps  trans 
formed  to  seats  and  writing  desks,  and  the  bugs — well,  the  bugs, 
the  spiders,  the  lizards,  et  id  omne  gcmis,  still  roam  through 
their  accustomed  haunts,  the  ants  build  catacombs  beneath  our 
beds,  the  mosquitoes  hum  playfully  about  our  ears,  the  wood-ticks 


Sibley  Tent — Company  D. 

climb  up  the  tent  walls,  and  by  the  light  of  our  solitary  candle, 
gaze  curiously  upon  our  little  group,  selecting  the  most  promising 
victim."  The  best  remedy  we  found  for  getting  rid  of  bugs  was  the 
liberal  use  of  Pennyroyal,  one  of  the  old  lady's  three  P's  for  getting 
rid  of  all  her  troubles,  as  narrated  on  page  168. 

July  7th,  H.  T.  Chace  wrote  :  "  Some  of  the  boys  call  our  tent 
the  'Smithsonian  Institute,'  on  account  of  the  variety  of  bugs 
and  insects  it  contains.  In  reference  to  the  proposed  trip  to 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


26l 


Washington,  one  said  there  was  no  use  to  spend  any  time  at  the 
'  Smithsonian  '  there,  as  we  have  all  the  specimens  of  ants,  flies, 
bugs,  and  lizards,  in  our  own  quarters.  'That's  so/  was  the  reply, 
'We  not  only  have  ten-ants,  here,  but  a  thousand  ants.'  Sergeant 
Mathewson  has  a  pretty  terrier,  black  and  tan,  named  '  Lutitia ' 
called  for  short  'Titia,'  a  good  and  playful  creature.  Speaking  of 
the  army  and  navy  at  breakfast  this  A.  M.,  one  of  the  mess  broke 
in  with  the  sage  remark,  'There  are  many  strong  arms  in  the 
navy,  and  many  strong  knaves  in  the  army.' 


Guard  House — Fort  De  Russy. 

"  We  shall  soon  commence  heavy  artillery  drill.  I  am  now  in  the 
guard-house  in  the  fort,  being  on  duty  till  nine  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning.  The  house  is  built  of  logs,  and  twelve  by  eighteen  feet 
in  size.  Cady  and  I  were  on  guard  duty  last  night.  When  our 
turn  came  to  be  off,  I  placed  my  cartridge-box  on  the  floor,  and, 
throwing  my  cape  over  my  head,  and  folding  part  of  it  on  the  box 
for  a  pillow  fell  asleep  without  other  covering.  Cady  had  no 
overcoat,  so  he  took  my  blanket,  and  placing  his  cap  on  a  piece 
of  an  inch  and  a  half  plank  for  a  pillow,  and  throwing  himself  on 
the  hard  floor  was  soon  asleep." 


262 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"We  are  to  have  no  bell  ringing  or  gun  firing,  here  to-day," 
wrote  Chace,  "but  still  realize  it  is  the  Fourth  of  July.  Six  of 
us  were  on  guard  in  the  fort,  and  at  2.30  this  morning,  we  drew 
lots  to  see  which  three  should  be  relieved  for  all  day.  I  was  one 
of  the  three  relieved,  and  we  will  have  to-morrow  to  ourselves 
just  the  same.  For  breakfast  we  had  each  two  slices  of  bread, 
beefsteak,  and  coffee,  from  'J.  B.  Chace's.'  Adjutant  Tobey 


Entrance  to  Fort  De  Russy. 

was  in  our  camp  to-day.  We  all  like  him.  He  is  a  pleasant 
officer  and  appears  to  understand  his  business.  We  have  cele 
brated  in  our  mess  to-day,  on  soup,  peas,  fish,  coffee,  custard  with 
cake  and  lemonade,  and  have  ordered  three  pecks  of  peaches  and 
three  dozen  eggs  for  our  mess  for  the  glorious  Fourth  !  Some 
milk  will  also  be  brought  in.  We  have  been  gladdened  to-day,  by  the 
return  of  George  Briggs.  He  will  soon  be  all  right.  Armington 
is  also  better.  He  is  one  of  the  quiet,  uncomplaining,  obliging 
fellows,  that  it  is  hard  to  do  without.  A  little  leaven  leavens  the 
whole  lump. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


"July  8th.  Our  little 
mess-darkey  was  telling 
one  of  his  friends  what 
a  glorious  dinner  was 
given  him  on  '  the 
Fourth,'  'ham,  an'  peas, 
an'  custard,  an'  cake, 
an'  cocoa,  an' — ,'  when 
the  other  interrupted 
him,  '  You  talks  like  a 
fool,  you  does.  Folks 
would  know  you  never 
had  a  good  dinner  befo' ! 
Oh  !  !  !  (long.)  You  just 
ought  ter  be  where  I 

USed   tO   live    011    P'lisiva-  E'6Vated  C°nt'aband  °n  Penn.ylv.ni.  Avenu.. 

nia  Av'nu'  !     We  could  look  right  ober  de  heads  of  de  white  folks, 
we  could,  and  frovv  ham  and  chick' n  away,  ev'ry  night  ! ' 

"Thursday,  July  loth.  Before  'tattoo'  last  night  we  had  one 
of  those  pleasant  hours  which  relieve  so  much  the  monotony  of 
camp-life.  A  guitar  accompaniment,  and  an  improvised  choir  did 
the  business.  They  treated  us  with  '  Let  me  kiss  him  for  his 
mother,'  '  Way  down  in  my  old  cabin  home,'  'The  old  folks  at 
home,'  'Larboard  Watch,'  and  several  college  songs,  all  very 
finely  rendered.  From  another  post,  a  writer  says,  'Notwith 
standing  the  hardships  of  a  soldier's  life,  we  do  not  lack  for  amuse 
ments.  Two  evenings  we  have  been  entertained  by  a  negro 
fiddler,  with  dancing  by  both  negro  men  and  women.'  ' 


264 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


On  Guard. 


"  Fred  Armington,  George  Briggs,  Sam 
Brown,  and  John  Cady,  are  on  guard  to-day, 
from  our  mess.  Privates  N.  W.  Aldrich  and 
George  W.  Adams  are  detailed  from  the 
company,  to  report  for  duty  to  the  adjutant, 
at  Fort  Pennsylvania.  Howard  Sturgis  has 
just  gone  over  with  the  mail.  It  is  very 
warm  here.  The  perspiration  runs  when 
one  is  standing  still.  According  to  general 
orders,  the  regiment  will  have  battalion  drill 
three  times  per  week,  in  a  field  near  Ten  n  ally  town.  The  drill 
is  to  commence  at  nine  A.  M.,  and  continue  for  two  hours.  The 
companies  which  are  located  at  Forts  Alexander,  Franklin  and 
Ripley  will  have  a  hot  march  of  over  three  miles.  Have  just  had 
a  visit  from  three  of  my  a(u)nts ;  did  not  receive  them  very 
graciously,  but  expelled  them  in  a  hurry  as  soon  as  made  aware 
of  their  presence.  Never  saw  flies  and  things  so  tormenting  as 
at  this  post.  Yesterday  afternoon  Company  D  marched  to  Fort 
Pennsylvania  to  receive  the  new  Enfield  rifles.  We  went  in 
single  file  over  a  narrow  foot-path  through  the  woods,  with  the 
trees  often  meeting  overhead.  We  not  only  received  our  weapons, 
with  straps  and  tompions,  but  also  mess-pans,  spoons,  knives  and 
forks.  We  shall  really  begin  to  live  like  civilized  nations.  This 
noon  we  had  blackberries,  which  are  now  plenty  here,  served  in 
our  new  tin  mess-pans.  All  our  men  are  better,  and  Mason  has 
returned,  greatly  to  our  satisfaction.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw 
now7  quarters  with  company  D.  The  men  gave  him  a  hearty  wel 
come  when  he  arrived  at  Fort  De  Russy." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


265 


"Wednesday,  July  i6th.  We  are  progressing  rapidly  with  the 
heavy  artillery  drill,"  wrote  Chace.  "This  A.  M.  I  acted  both  as 
gunner  and  as  chief  of  the  piece.  There  is  one  chief,  one  gunner, 
and  four  cannoneers  to  each  gun.  The  cannoneers  load,  the  gunner 
tends  vent  (that  there  may  be  no  premature  discharges),  inserts 
the  friction-primer,  and  sights  the  gun,  and  the  chief  then  sees 
that  it  is  correctly  done.  To-day  we  went  over  the  names  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  gun-carriage."  An  amusing  incident  is  re- 


The  Magazines — Fort  De  Russy. 

ported  by  Private  Yerrington,  of  Company  G.  One  day  during 
artillery  target  practice  at  Fort  Gaines,  Lieut.  James  H.  Allen 
had  just  sighted  the  piece,  when  Colonel  Haskin,  Inspector  of 
Forts,  stepped  up,  and  said,  "  Lieutenant,  your  aim  is  too  low,  let 
me  assist  you."  After  the  gun  was  fired,  the  shot  went  over  the 
target,  and  made  some  contrabands  scatter  in  the  wheat-fields 
beyond.  The  colonel  enjoyed  the  joke  at  his  expense,  and  went 
on  showing  us  how  to  do  it,  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He 
was  a  veteran  in  the  military  service,  having  won  distinction  in  the 
war  with  Mexico.  He  was  a  very  obliging  officer,  and  was  much 
respected  by  our  officers. 

34 


266 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"  July  20th.  Yesterday  Briggs  and  I  were  occupied  most  of 
the  day  in  laying  floors  for  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw's  and  Cap- 
tain  Smith's  tents.  Both  officers  expressed  themselves  well  satis 
fied  with  the  work  done.  At  dress-parade  we  marched  in  front 
of  the  new  flag-staff  (just  raised  by  the  boys)  when  the  company 
having  halted,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shaw  run  up  the  'Stars  and 


Raising  the  Flag  at  Fort  De  Russy. 

Stripes.'  I  never  heard  more  hearty  cheering  than  was  then 
given.  Never  before  had  the  sight  of  the  flag  excited  such  feel 
ings  as  then.  We  felt  as  though  with  that  flag  in  sight,  and  with 
such  comrades,  we  could  march  or  fight  in  its  defence.  Colonel 
Shaw  made  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  to  which  the  men  responded 
with  three  cheers.  He  then  drilled  the  company  for  about  fifteen 
minutes,  after  which  we  were  dismissed  for  rations. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  267 

"  Yesterday  another  box  arrived,  from  the  Second  Ward  folks. 
It  contained  ginger  snaps,  soda  powders,  soap,  writing  paper,  en 
velopes,  etc.,  sugar,  sardines,  lemons  and  other  eatables  and  drink 
ables.  Briggs  has  dug  a  hole  under  the  head  of  his  bed,  and 
when  he  wishes  to  keep  things  cool  he  puts  them  down-stairs. 
Another  change  in  our  cook  department  to-day.  Corporal  Kelley 
goes  out,  Levi  Burclon  is  in.  We  enjoyed,  yesterday,  the  luxury 
of  some  home-made  gingerbread.  Have  some  ? 

"July  2Oth.  George  Briggs  had  a  box  from  home  last  evening. 
Some  of  the  articles  were  nicely  packed  in  a  tin-pan,  and  a  little 
coffee-pot.  The  sight  of  the  pan  caused  visions  of  bread  and  rice 
puddings  to  pass  before  our  minds.  All  we  lack  are  the  eggs. 

"July 23d.  At  the  afternoon  drill  Lieutenants  Amos  D.  Smith,  Jr., 
Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.,  Henry  Pearce,  and  Sergt.  Philip  B.  Stiness, 
of  the  Tenth  Battery,  were  present.  A  detachment  selected  from 
our  company  was  put  on  one  of  the  thirty-two-pounders.  They 
loaded  and  fired,  running  the  gun  from  battery,  out  in  full  length, 
once  in  sixty,  and  once  in  fifty-seven  seconds.  A  few  days  since 
we  fired  in  fifty  seconds.  Mrs.  General  Burnside,  Mrs.  Richmond, 
and  Miss  Gardner  were  in  camp  this  noon.  Lieut. -Col.  James 
Shaw  has  his  wife  and  his  little  Ted  with  him.  The  mail  just  in 
has  brought  Sergt.  Tom  Tobey  a  commission  as  lieutenant  in  the 
Seventh  Rhode  Island  Regiment.  We  heartily  congratulate  him  ; 
he  will  make  a  good  officer,  and  will  treat  his  men  like  men.  At 
'retreat'  this  evening  official  orders  from  General  Pope  were  read. 
One  prohibits  the  soldiers  of  his  army  leaving  their  camps. 
Now  we  cannot  go  to  Georgetown  or  Washington  without  a  special 
pass  from  his  headquarters." 


268  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"After  sunset,"  wrote  DeWolf,  "on  these 
glorious  July  evenings,  our  own  band  assem 
bles,  two  violins,  guitar,  banjo,  tamborine, 
triangle  and  bones,  accompanied  by  a  dozen 
manly  voices,  and  song  follows  song,  with  an 
occasional  interlude,  during  which  the  negro 
field-hands  from  the  neighboring  farms,  in- 
» Room  Boys,  Room,  dulge  in  a  regular  Virginia  'hoe  down,'  with 
BytheL.ghtof.theMoon."  t  ^^  round/  and  '  double  shuffle '  embellish- 
ments.  Our  evening  assemblies  usually  wind  up  with  the  strains 
of  sacred  or  patriotic  song."  What  time  so  welcome  in  camp  as 
the  still  evening  hour,  and  what  influence  so  potent  as  music,  to 
cheer  and  refresh  the  drooping  spirits  of  those  whose  roving  tents 
were  pitched  far  from  home  and  kindred. 

'  Yes,  music  is  the  prophet's  art ; 
Among  the  gifts  that  God  hath  sent, 
One  of  the  most  magnificent!  ' 

"July  22d.  Our  battalion  drills  near  headquarters,  are  con 
ducted  sometimes  by  Colonel  Bliss,  and  sometimes  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Shaw.  The  latter  has  recently  finished  his  labors  at  the 
general  court  martial,  of  which  he  was  president.  One  of  the 
boys  said  he  'thought  a  little  battalion  drill  went  a  great  way,'  to 
which  another  replied  :  'Yes,  and  we  have  to  go  a  great  way  to 
get  a  little  battalion  drill !  ' 

"July  23d.  While  going  through  'inspection  of  arms,'  two  of 
the  darkey  boys  joined  in.  It  was  too  comical  for  a  soldier's 
gravity  to  see  them  gravely  bring  their  sticks  to  the  'right 
shoulder'  and  pass  them  to  the  man  for  'inspection.' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  269 

"Thursday,  July  24th.  At  the  drill  this  afternoon,  we  used 
powder,  shot  and  shell.  A  target  was  placed  nearly  a  mile  dis 
tant  at  the  edge  of  a  piece  of  woods.  The  shots  fell  very  near, 
and  the  shells  exploded  over  it.  We  are  much  pleased  with  the 
success  of  the  shell  practice. 

"  I  remarked  to  one  of  the  boys,  '  I  believe  your  forte  is  exag 
geration.'  Cady  immediately  rejoined,  'My  fort(e)  is  Fort  De 
Russy !  '  Our  relief  on  from  two  to  four  A.  M.,  was  not  relieved 
until  4.30,  for  which  error  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  will  have  to 
4  take  it.'  He  was  asleep.  We  are  glad  to  hear  that  General 
Twiggs  is  dead.  May  many  more  of  the  Confederate  leaders  fol 
low  his  example;  and  the  sooner,  the  better. 

"July  27th.  After  '  retreat '  last  evening,  we  were  entertained 
with  drumming  by  Master  James  Shaw,  3d,  and  he  certainly  did 
exceedingly  well  for  a  boy  of  his  age.  Yesterday  we  had  a  report 
that  the  night  before,  fifty  guerillas  had  attacked  Fort  Slocum, 
not  far  from  us,  and  were  driven  off.  It  may  only  have  been 
some  men  on  a  drunken  frolic,  but  it  has  had  the  effect  to  keep 
us  on  the  alert.  Later  :  The  party  of  guerillas  proved  to  be  a 
squad  of  Union  cavalry,  bearing  dispatches  to  Secretary  Stanton. 
Rev.  Mr.  Woodbury  was  in  camp  to-day. 

"Just  after  taps,  one  night,  Fred.  Hedge  said,  'Boys  who  will 
occupy  this  fort  after  we  leave  ? '  We  couldn't  tell  so  he  informed 
us.  'I  suppose  the  bugs  will  be  left  tenants  (lieutenants).'  He 
was  immediately  told  to  go  to  sleep.  Between  our  fort  and  Fort 
Pennsylvania,  lives  an  old  colored  woman,  who  has  invited  some 
of  the  boys  to  stop  at  her  'humble  fabrication,'  when  they  go  by. 
We  are  to  have  fish-balls  to-night,  William  A.  Harris,  chief  cook." 


270  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT. 

"  Fort  Alexander,  July  iSth.  Companies  E,  I,  F  and  A, 
form  the  second  battalion  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island,  under 
Major  Babbitt.  We  are  encamped  upon  the  heights  of  the 
Potomac,  about  eight  miles  from  Washington,  under  the  walls  of 
Forts  Alexander,  Ripley,  and  Franklin,  which  crown  as  many 
hills  and  form  a  triangle.  The  river,  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
below  us,  makes  a  short  bend  before  reaching  this  point,  and  the 
small  sweep  visible,  being  studded  with  islands,  many  of  which 
resemble  stacks  of  bullrushes,  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  frog 
pond  than  of  that  Potomac  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much. 
But  it  is  magnificent  at  sunset,  where,  after  a  smoky,  hot  day, 
the  sun  goes  down  like  a  ball  of  fire  ;  and  when  we  have  retired 
to  our  tents  and  our  blankets,  the  noise  of  its  waters  as  they  rush 
over  the  rocks  which  obstruct  its  channel,  sounds  not  unpleasantly, 
We  are  pleased  with  our  location  and  its  duties — pure  air,  spring 
water,  wood,  cut  and  dried ;  excellent  drainage,  good  bathing 
facilities,  little  policing,  hardly  more  guarding,  and  a  drill  which 
gives  a  pleasant  change, — heavy  artillery  in  the  afternoon,  rifle 
drill  in  the  morning. 

"A  change  has  come  over  the  spirit  of  this  battalion.  Perhaps 
I  ought  not  to  write  it,  but  a  week  ago  grumbling  and  indifference 
had  begun  to  be  too  prevalent  in  camp.  And  for  this  reason  : 
We  had  no  muskets,  save  the  same  worthless  ones  which  we 
brought  from  Providence ;  we,  or  at  least  not  a  man  of  Com 
pany  E,  had  a  cap-box ;  our  belts  were  old  and  rotten  ;  the  ser 
geants  had  no  swords  ;  bed-ticks  and  rubber  blankets  few  possessed  ; 
and  most  of  all,  we  had  not,  and  for  that  matter  still  have  not, 
an  ensign  of  the  Republic  to  revive  our  tired  patriotism,  and  to 


272  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

symbolize  the  land  and  the  laws  that  we  are  helping  to  uphold. 
Last  Saturday,  however,  we  received  our  splendid,  new  Enfields,. 
and  the  other  'fixings'  wanting  previously,  and  now  we  feel  that 
we  play  the  soldier  no  longer.  Increased  attention  at  the  drills, 
stricter  obedience,  and,  if  I  may  so  say,  a  revival  of  the  whole 
regiment  is  the  result.  The  health  of  the  company  is  good. 

"An  order  has  been  issued  offering  to  muster  all  those  who 
will  enlist  again  in  the  Seventh  Regiment  for  three  years.  That 
some  will  reenlist  is  certain.  Major  Babbitt  will  return,  ere  long, 
to  take  his  position  as  major  of  the  Seventh  and  expects  to  raise 
a  company  from  this  battalion  alone.  Saturday,  we  were  under 
arms  to  receive  His  Excellency  Governor  Sprague." 

Christopher  A.  Cady,  of  Company  E,  was  detailed  as  "orderly" 
for  Major  Babbitt,  at  Fort  Alexander,  and  carried  the  mails  and 
other  dispatches  to  headquarters  at  Fort  Pennsylvania.  Starting 
late  one  dark  night,  he  lost  his  bearings  at  a  point  where  a  small 
stream  was  forded  by  a  log,  and  fell  into  the  water — mail  and  all, 
but  succeeded  in  scrambling  out  without  loss  of  correspondence. 
He  was  afterwards  furnished  with  a  horse,  and  continued  to  serve 
as  orderly  till  Major  Babbitt  left  for  home  to  take  the  position 
of  major  of  the  Seventh  Regiment.  One  morning  on  his  way 
for  the  mail,  as  Cady  was  riding  through  an  apple  orchard,  he 
stopped  to  fill  his  saddle-bags  with  fruit  for  the  boys,  when  the 
owner  suddenly  confronted  him.  Not  desiring  any  complaint, 
he  turned  over  the  apples,  and  rode  on.  A  few  days  after,  as  he 
was  riding  through  the  same  locality,  a  musket  shot  whistled  close 
to  his  ear.  He  turned  but  could  see  no  one.  The  matter  was 
investigated  by  the  major,  but  nothing  ever  came  of  it. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  273 

In  his  official  report  to  Governor  Sprague, 
Colonel  Shaw  says  :  "About  the  first  of 
August,  an  epidemic  or  malarial  fever 
broke  out  in  Fort  De  Russy  (Company  D), 
and  twenty  men  were  on  the  sick  list  at 
one  time.  Subsequently  the  fever  appeared 
at  Fort  Pennsylvania,  and  prevailed  so 
generally  in  Companies  B  and  K,  that  for 
some  time  after  the  daily  details  were 
made,  not  half  a  dozen  men  from  both  Dr-  George  D.  wiicox. 
could  be  mounted  for  cavalry  drill."  Dr.  (A recent  picture.) 

George  D.  Wiicox,  our  efficient  surgeon,  assisted  by  Dr.  Albert 
G.  Sprague,  very  faithfully  attended  to  the  needs  of  the  sick,  all 
of  whom,  save  one  in  Company  B,  recovered. 

"  Fort  Gaines,  August  7th,"  Capt.  A.  Crawford  Greene  wrote  : 
"  The  extreme  heat  under  which  we  have  been  laboring  for  the 
past  two  weeks  has  prevented  our  doing  any  extra  duties  ;  but 
to-day  I  have  mustered  courage,  although  the  mercury  on  the 
thermometer  stands  at  about  100°  As  I  wrote  you  last,  we  are 
continuing  the  drill  in  heavy  artillery,  and  consider  ourselves 
pretty  familiar  with  that  arm  of  the  service.  We  can  load  or 
discharge  our  forty-two  pounders  at  the  rate  of  forty-five  seconds 
each  round.  Battery  Vermont  and  Fort  Gaines  are  engaged  in 
mounting  more  guns.  The  boys  are  not  quite  so  fond  of  the  en 
gineering  department  as  we  expected  to  be  when  first  detailed  for 
that  business.  Many  of  us  have  never  been  used  to  handling  the 
pick  and  shovel,  but  considering  it  is  our  first  attempt  building 
forts  I  think  we  are  making  marked  progress. 

35 


274  TIIE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"  One  week  ago  next  Monday  morning,  Company  G  raised  the 
stars  and  stripes  over  Fort  Gaines,  when  speeches  were  made  by 
Chaplain  Clapp,  Adjutant  Tobey,  Captain  Gallup,  of  the  Battery  ; 
Captain  Duckworth,  Lieut.  J.  H.  Allen,  Lieutenant  Pierce,  Dr. 
King,  Sergt.  A.  J.  Manchester,  and  others.  Cheer  after  cheer 
was  sent  up  for  the  old  ensign  and  for  the  speakers.  It  was  the 
first  flag  raised  over  Fort  Gaines. 

"  Colonel  Bliss  left  us  yesterday,  to  return  to  Rhode  Island,  to 
take  charge  of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  now  being  mustered  into 
the  service." 

The  following  order  was  read  to  the  regiment  : 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT,  R.  I.  VOLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  6,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  36. 

The  colonel  commanding  having  been  ordered  to  report  immediately  in 
Rhode  Island  to  take  command  of  the  Seventh  Regiment  Rhode  Island  Volun 
teers,  is  obliged  to  leave  his  present  command  this  day.  Being  unable  in  the 
haste  of  departure  to  visit  each  post  of  his  command,  he  takes  this  method  of 
expressing  his  regret  at  parting  with  the  Tenth. 

He  begs  each  of  his  officers  and  enlisted  men,  to  accept  his  thanks  for  the 
cheerful  faithfulness  with  which  they  have  discharged  all  duties  required  of  them, 
and  to  receive  assurances  of  his  entire  satisfaction  with  their  conduct,  while 
under  his  command.  To  the  Field  and  Staff  especially,  the  Colonel  command 
ing  tenders  his  thanks  for  the  kindness  which  has  made  his  intercourse  with 
them  uniformly  agreeable.  His  regret  at  parting  with  them  is  tendered  with 
the  certainty  of  life-long  memories,  of  this  brief  but  most  pleasant  association. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  the  colonel  commanding  to  feel  that  though  personally 
separated  from  this  command,  he  will  be  still  united  with  them,  in  the  service 
of  our  honored  State,  the  defence  of  our  common  country,  and  the  triumph 
which  is  speedily  to  crown  our  cause. 

Signed,  ZEXAS   R.    BLISS, 

Colonel  Commanding. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  27^ 

/    \J 

IlEADqUARTERS    TENTH    REGIMENT    R.    I.    VoLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  6,   1862. 
General  Orders  No.  37. 

The  undersigned  hereby  relinquishes  command  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers. 

Signed,  ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

Colonel  Commanding* 

"August  6th.  The  following  resolutions  were  read  to  our 
Battalion  this  afternoon  at  dress  parade,  when  the  companies 
composing  it  (E,  A,  I,  and  F)  joined  heartily  on  adopting  them 
and  in  giving  nine  rousing  cheers  for  Colonel  Bliss.  Many  of  us 
hope  to  see  him  once  more,  and  join  hands  again  in  crushing  the 
rebellion  : 

"WHEREAS,  The  exigencies  of  the  service  have  required  the  recall  of  Col. 
Zenas  R.  Bliss  from  this  command,  to  assume  his  post  at  the  head  of  the  Sev 
enth  Regiment,  it  is  due  to  him  as  an  officer  and  a  man,  that  we  tender  to  him 
some  slight  testimony  of  our  respect;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  during  our  short  intercourse  with  Colonel  Bliss,  we  have 
learned  to  esteem  him  for  the  many  high  qualities  which  distinguish  him, 
both  in  his  official  and  private  relations ;  for  the  soldierly  bearing  that  mark 
the  former,  and  for  the  kindly  heart  and  social  disposition  which  have  made  the 
latter  so  pleasant  to  us. 

"Resolved,  That  in  parting  with  him,  we  are  deprived  of  the  services  of  an 
officer  who  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  improve  us  in  drill  and  discipline,  and 
whose  longer  connection  with  us  would  have  brought  us  to  the  highest  state 
of  efficiency. 

"Resolved,  That  we  congratulate  the  Seventh  that  they  will  be  led  to  the  field 
by  so  gallant  and  accomplished  a  commander,  and  that  we  tender  to  him  the 
best  wishes  of  each  officer  and  soldier  in  this  command  for  his  future  welfare, 
happiness  and  prosperity." 


276 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


"In  Tennally 
town,  near  Fort 
Pennsylvania, 
where  we  had 
our  first  camp 
( Camp  Frieze ) 
there  is  a  small, 
meeting  -  house, 
which  we  used 
at  first  for  quar 
ter- master's 
stores.  When 
the  Anderson 
Zouaves 


Tennallytown  Church,   1862. 

there  they  used  it  for  a  guard-house,  and  tore  out  the  pulpit,  and 
destroyed  the  Sabbath  School  library.  Quartermaster-Sergeant 
Lysander  Flagg  learning  about  it,  sent  to  the  Methodist  Sabbath 
School  in  Pawtucket,  and  the  Baptist  Sabbath  School  in  Central 
Falls,  and  informed  them  of  the  facts,  and  they  immediately  sent 
a  large  collection  of  their  books  to  the  little  Sunday-school  of 
Tennallytown.  The  books  we  presented  last  Sabbath.  Both 
teachers  and  scholars  were  greatly  pleased  with  this  remembrance 
from  the  children  of  the  New  England  schools." 

Comrade  R.  W.  Chappell,  of  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Volun 
teers,  says,  "that  the  old  meeting-house  at  Tennallytown,  was  the 
last  building  in  which  John  Brown  preached  on  his  way  to  Harper's 
Ferry,  in  October,  1859,  where  in  an  effort  to  free  the  slaves  he 
lost  his  life,  'but  his  soul  is  still  marching  on.'  ' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  277 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  6,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  jS. 

The  undersigned  hereby  assumes  command  of  the  Tenth    Regiment  Rhode 

Island  Volunteers. 

Signed,  JAMES    SHAW,  JR., 

I^ieut.- Col.  Commanding. 


HEADQUARTERS  NORTH  OK  THE  POTOMAC, 

WASHINGTON,  August  6,  1862. 
To  the  Colonel  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  : 

SIR:     If  you  have  not  one  hundred  rounds  of  cartridges  per  man  in  addition 
to  fortv  rounds  in  cartridge-box,  please  send  in  requisition,  at  once. 
I  am  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES    II.    HALE, 

Captain  and  A.  D.  C. 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 

FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  u,  1862. 
GEN.  S.  P.   STURGIS. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  would  respectfully  request,  if  possible  and  consistent  with  the 
interests  of  the  public  service,  that  this  regiment  may  be  released  from  the 
daily  details  of  laborers  for  Battery  Vermont. 

I  have  thirty-three  men  on  my  sick  report  this  morning,  nearly  all  of  them 
have  a  slow  fever  caused  by  hard  work  and  exposure  to  the  sun ;  with  the  ther 
mometer  varying  as  it  has  done  from  100°  to  130°  in  the  sun,  during  the  past 
week,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  do  the  work  effectually,  and  if  attempted  at 
all,  it  is  daily  adding  to  my  sick  list.  I  have  placed  the  detachment  under  com 
mand  of  a  commissioned  officer,  and  if  they  cannot  be  released,  I  will  see  that 
they  do  all  that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do. 

I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Signed,  JAMES    SHAW,  JR., 

Lieut.- Col.  Commanding'. 


278  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"A  verbal  reply  was  received  through  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ras 
kin,  A.  D.  C.,  saying  that  a  requisition  had  been  made  for  'con 
trabands,'  but  they  had  not  been  obtained,  so  that  the  regiment 
would  be  expected  to  do  all  the  work  they  were  able.  The  details 
were  therefore  continued  until  the  regiment  was  ordered  home. 
It  was  a  thankless  task,  which  the  men  felt  that  idle  hands  in 
Washington  might  better  have  been  employed  to  do.  Still  the 
orders  were  promptly  obeyed,  and  a  large  amount  of  work  was 
performed." 

August  nth.  Capt.  William  M.  Hale,  of  Company  I,  was  pro 
moted  to  be  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  First  Lieutenant  Samuel 
H.  Thomas,  of  Company  B,  was  promoted  to  be  Captain  of  Com 
pany  I.  These  were  two  of  our  most  efficient  officers. 

"  Fort  Alexander,  August  I3th,"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hale  wrote  : 
"Thanks  to  our  many  friends,  yesterday  was  a  gala  day  with 
the  '  What  Cheer  Guards,'  Company  I,  Tenth  Regiment.  It  is 
marked  with  a  white  stone  in  our  calendar,  for  we  received  such 
a  supply  of  good  things  from  our  friends  at  home,  as  will  cheer 
our  hearts,  to  say  nothing  of  our  bodies,  for  the  remainder  of  our 
campaign.  Such  fat  living,  such  unctuous  hams,  such  bursting 
bolognas,  such  creamy  cheese  and  pungent  pickles,  such  golden 
lemons,  such  fragrant  tobacco,  such  crispy  crackers,  and  soothing 
sweet  bread,  my  feeble  pen  in  vain  essays  to  describe.  After  the 
solids  were  duly  distributed  among  the  messes,  the  liquids, 
among  which  are  included  the  lemons,  were  compounded  into 
lemonade,  which,  for  a  short  time,  claimed  the  undivided  atten 
tion  of  the  entire  command.  Resolutions  were  then  passed, 
toasts  were  drank,  speeches  were  made,  and  songs  were  sung." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  279 

"  The  following  were  rescued  from  the  wreck  : 

"Resolved,  That  Capt.  Thomas  W.  Hart  is  a  tall  man,  with  a  heart  large 
enough  to  reach  from  Rhode  Island  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 

"Resolved,  That  Lieut.  Calvin  Fuller  is  pure  '  old  government  Java  '  to  the 
backbone. 

"Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sincere  thanks  to  all  the  friends  who  have  con 
tributed  so  bountifully  to  our  comfort. 

'•'•Resolved,  That  when  we  get  home,  we  will  defend  the  Third  Ward  to  the 
last  drop  of  our  blood,  against  all  foes,  internal  and  external. 

"  Short  and  pithy  speeches  were  made  by  Major  Babbitt,  Dr. 
Sprague,  Lieutenant  Thurber,  and  others,  which  would  undoubt 
edly  have  brought  down  the  house,  if  we  had  occupied  one,  but 
as  we  were  under  the  '  broad  canopy  of  heaven,'  they  brought 
down  'all  out-doors.' 

"  Corporal  Stump,  during  the  course  of  his  remarks  had  frequent 
occasion  to  'return  to  his  subject,'  which  seemed  to  be  contained 
in  a  pint  cup,  near  by,  of  standard  measurement." 

August  iith.  First  Sergeant  Charles  F.  Phillips,  of  Company 
B,  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  Company  B,  and  William 
C  Chase,  second  lieutenant  Company  B,  to  first  lieutenant  Com 
pany  B,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 

"August  I4th."  Corp.  O.  S.  Alers  wrote  :  "A  part  of  Company  I 
went  over  to  the  quarters  of  Company  F,  Capt.  Benjamin  W, 
Harris,  and  gave  them  a  serenade,  which  was  greatly  appreciated. 

"August  1 7th.  We  had  a  grand  review  to-day,  Capt.  Hopkins 
B.  Cady,  of  Company  E,  acting  as  colonel,  and  Lieut.  Peter  Read, 
of  Company  I,  as  adjutant.  The  battalion  showed  a  great  im 
provement  in  discipline  and  drill." 


280 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


Ex-Mayor   Heniy   R.   Barker 


Ex-Mayor  Henry  R.  Barker, 
of  Providence,  was  at  this  time 
one  of  the  youthful  sergeants  of 
Company  I,  and  was  much  es 
teemed  by  his  comrades.  Since 
the  war  he  has  served  in  various 
positions  of  official  trust.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Common 
Council  from  the  Ninth  Ward, 
from  June  1873  to  January  1880, 
and  president  in  1879;  alder 
man,  1880  to  1883  ;  president 
in  1882;  mayor,  from  1889  to 
1891.  He  has  also  been  Com 
mander  of  Slocum  Post,  No.  10,  G.  A.  R.,  and  Department  Com 
mander  of  Rhode  Island. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Hale  resumes:  "Having  completed  one 
term  of  service,  we  propose  to  return  to  the  land  of  our  nativity, 
and  make  such  a  display  as  has  never  greeted  the  eyes  of  the 
quiet  dwellers  at  home.  The  regiment  will  be  so  formed  as  to 
represent  an  entire  corps  d ' armce.  First  :  The  ambulance  wagon, 
drawn  by  our  reliable  switch-tailed  horse,  will  represent  the  cav 
alry,  with  the  sharpshooters  about  the  wheels  and  shafts,  deployed 
as  skirmishers.  Next,  the  mountain  howitzer,  borne  in  triumph 
by  its  captors,  will  form  the  light  artillery,  having  the  '  stars  and 
stripes'  floating  gloriously  from  the  vent,  while  the  Confederate 
flag  is  dragged  in  disgrace  from  its  depressed  muzzle.  After  that 
the  main  body  of  the  regiment  will  appear  divided  into  light  and 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  28 1 

heavy  infantry,  dismounted  huzzars  and  chasseurs,  and  the  heavy 
artillery,  selected  from  the  most  ponderous  men  of  the  regiment, 
armed  with  as  many  thirty-two  and  sixty-four  pounders  as  pos 
sible.  Captain  Duckworth's  Zouaves  will  close  the  column,  acting 
as  the  rear-guard,  with  instructions  to  close  upon  the  main  body 
at  the  double-quick  at  the  first  instruction  of  danger. 

"  We  shall  bring  home  few  trophies  and  less  scars.  We  shall 
bear  no  tattered,  shot-rent  banners  from  the  bloody  field,  but 
shall  not  be  entirely  destitute  of  tatters,  if  we  are  of  banners,  and 
feeling  that  we  have  done  what  we  have  been  ordered  to  do  in 
our  limited  sphere  of  action,  shall  not  be  ashamed  to  expose  our 
bared  soles  for  public  inspection." 

August  2Oth.     We  have  received  the  following  order  : 

HEADqUARTERS,    DEFENCES    OF    WASHINGTON, 

WASHINGTON,  August  20,  1862. 
Genera!  Orders  No.  /. 

I.  In  virtue  of  Special  Orders  No.  196,  from   the  headquarters  of  the  army, 
dated  Washington,  August  19,  1862,  Brig. -Gen.  J.  G.  Barnard  assumes  the  com 
mand  of  the  fortifications  of  Washington  and  troops  assigned  to  the  defences. 

II.  The  fortifications  and  troops  on  the  south   side  of  the  Potomac  will  re 
main  under  the  immediate   command  of  Brig. -Gen.  S.  W.  Whipple:  those  on 
the  north  side,  under  charge  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Haskin,  A.  D.  C.,  through 
•whom   all  orders  will   be    transmitted,  and  to  whom   commanding  officers  will 
make  their  usual  reports. 

III.  Capt.  J.  Brice  Smith   is  announced  as  assistant  adjutant-general  to  this 
command,  and  Lieut.  T.  M.  Parrel,  Fifteenth  New  York  Volunteers,  as  A.  D.  C. 
to  the  General  Commanding. 

J.  G.  BARNARD, 

Brigadier-General, 

Commanding  Defences  of  Washington. 
36 


282  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

August  2 1  st.  A  note  was  received  by  Colonel  Shaw  from 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Haskin,  asking  if  the  regiment  would  be  will 
ing  to  be  sworn  in  for  an  extra  term  of  from  two  to  four  weeks, 
until  relieved  by  another  regiment.  The  following  is  his  reply : 

HEADQUARTERS  TENTH  REGIMENT  R.  I.  VOLS., 
FORT  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  22,  1862. 

COLONEL:  Yours  of  the  2ist  requesting  the  regiment  to  remain  two  weeks 
or  one  month  after  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service  is  received,  and  has 
been  laid  before  the  regiment.  I  regret  to  say  it  has  not  met  their  appro 
bation,  although  when  all  the  circumstances  are  considered  I  am  not  surprised 
at  the  result.  You  will  remember  that  the  regiment  started  from  Rhode  Island 
at  twenty-four-hours'  notice,  coming  simply  for  the  emergency,  and  expecting 
to  be  released  within  a  month.  Many  of  them  left  important  business  matters, 
and  permanent  situations,  that  they  feel  must  be  attended  to.  They  will  have 
staid  on  the  26th  inst.,  the  longest  time  as  they  understood  it,  when  they  left 
home,  that  would  possibly  be  required  of  them,  and  have  made  their  arrange 
ments  expecting  to  be  at  home  at  that  time.  We  have  many  amongst  us  who 
are  expecting  positions  in  the  regiments  to  be  sent  from  our  State,  and  many 
that  wish  to  obtain  the  large  bounties  that  are  now  being  offered  by  many  of 
the  towns.  These  all  wish  to  go.  The  epidemic  fever  which  now  prevails  at 
Fort  Pennsylvania  has  a  great  influence.  Sick  men  always  wish  to  get  home. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  trust  you  will  do  the  regiment  the  justice  to  be 
lieve  that  its  disinclination  to  stay  is  not  from  any  lack  of  patriotism  or  desire 
to  comply  with  every  wish  of  the  government.  So  much,  we  think,  was  mani 
fested  by  the  readiness  with  which  they  volunteered  for  what  then  appeared 
immediate,  active  service,  and  the  cheerfulness  with  which  they  have  served 
through  the  longest  time  mentioned  as  the  limit  of  our  stay.  I  trust  that  our 
reply  when  thus  explained  will  meet  the  approbation  of  General  Barnard. 

I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Signed,  JAMES    SHAW,  JR. 

To  COL.  J.  A.  HASKIN,  Colonel  Commanding. 

A.  D.  C. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  283 

"  This  reply  and  the  action  of  the  regiment  I  was  assured  by 
Colonel  Haskin  was  perfectly  satisfactory.  He  did  not  think  the 
regiment  should  have  been  called  on  to  stay,  and  said  that  had 
General  Barnard  (who  had  just  assumed  the  command)  under 
stood  the  circumstances,  as  he  did,  he  would  not  have  made  the 
request. 

"On  the  22d  inst.,  the  One  Hundredth  and  Thirteenth  New 
York  Volunteers  arrived  and  encamped  on  our  old  ground  of 
'Camp  Frieze,'  and  the  next  day  the  following  order  was  issued  : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEFENCES  OF  WASHINGTON, 

WASHINGTON,  August  23,  1862. 
General  Orders  ^\ro.  2. 

i.  EXTRACT.  In  pursuance  of  orders  from  the  War  Department,  all  regi 
ments  of  three  months'  volunteers  within  this  command,  will  be  mustered  out 
of  service  at  the  points  where  they  organized  respectively. 

They  will  be  placed  en  route  for  the  rendezvous,  so  as  to  arrive  there  one  or 
two  days  before  the  expiration  of  their  time. 

By  order  of  Brigadier-General  BARNARD, 

Official  : 

Signed,  J.  B.  SMITH, 

J.   A.  HASKIN,  A.  A.  G. 

A.  D.  C. 

"On  the  24th  of  August,  the  One  Hundredth  New  York  Vol 
unteers  took  their  post  at  the  several  forts  and  batteries,  and  on 
the  25th  we  took  up  our  homeward  march  to  Washington." 

"  Returning  to  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  life,"  says  our  worthy 
and  valiant  Matthew  Bagnet,  "  We  sheathe  our  sword,  hang  our 
armor  on  the  wall,  and  return  our  '  Bagnet '  to  its  scabbard,  until 
our  country  again  calls  us  to  her  defence." 


284 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


General-in-Chief. 


During  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  1862,  when  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Regiment  was  quietly  holding 
the  forts  near  the  capital,  an  entire 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  military 
situation  in  Virginia.  The  retreat  of 
General  McClellan  to  the  James  River, 
July  ist,  and  the  bitter  feelings  and 
controversies  which  it  occasioned,  led 
General  Pope  to  ask  to  be  relieved  from 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  Virginia. 
Instead  of  granting  the  request,  President  Lincoln,  who  appeared 
to  lack  confidence  in  McClellan's  ability,  decided  to  appoint  Gen. 
Henry  W.  Halleck,  general-in-chief.  To  bring  this  about,  Gov 
ernor  Sprague,  of  Rhode  Island,  was  sent  July  6th,  on  a  confiden 
tial  mission  to  Corinth,  General  Halleck's  headquarters.  On  the 
iith,  General  Halleck  was  appointed  general-in-chief.  General 
Pope  favored  this  course,  and  united  with  Secretary  Stanton  and 
General  Scott  in  advising  that  McClellan  should  be  superseded 
and  Halleck  placed  in  charge  of  military  affairs  at  Washington. 
Unfortunately  General  Halleck  did  not  arrive  in  Washington  and 
assume  command  till  July  23d,  nearly  two  weeks  after  his  appoint 
ment.  After  looking  over  the  situation  in  Virginia,  he  deter 
mined  to  withdraw  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  the  James 
river  and  unite  it  with  the  Army  of  Virginia.  General  McClellan 
remonstrated  in  vain,  General  Halleck  replying  :  "  I  find  the  two 
armies  hopelessly  separated,  with  the  Confederates  between,  and 
I  propose  to  reunite  them." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


Senator   Henry   B.  Anthony. 


What  proved  to  be  a  singularly 
just  criticism  of  the  capacity  of 
General  Halleck  appeared  in  the 
Providence  Journal  of  July  iQth, 
just  a  week  after  his  appointment, 
and  is  doubtless  from  the  pen  of 
Senator  Anthony,  the  senior  editor, 
and  also  our  accomplished  senator. 
He  said,  "The  general  impression  is 
that  the  talent  of  General-in-Chief 
H.  W.  Halleck  is  more  conspicuous  in  the  council,  than  in  the 
field.  Doubtless  he  has  admirable  qualities  as  a  military  coun 
cilor."  In  his  subsequent  efforts  to  direct  the  movements  of  our 
armies  in  Virginia,  from  his  office  in  Washington,  he  proved  no 
match  for  Lee  and  Jackson,  in  the  field.  Senator  Anthony  was 
always  an  honored  guest  at  the  headquarers  of  the  Tenth. 

Henry  B.  Anthony  was  governor  of  Rhode  Island  from  1849  to 
1851,  and  a  senator  of  the  United  States  from  March  4,  1859  t^ 
he  died  in  Providence,  September  2,  1884.  His  eloquent  words 
spoken  for  another,  are  his  own  fitting  eulogy:  "The  State  that 
he  served  so  faithfully  and  so  well,  in  the  time  of  her  emergency, 
proudly  lifts  his  name  and  inscribes  it  on  the  roll  of  her  honored 
and  remembered  sons.  And  the  history  of  that  State  cannot  be 
fairly  written  without  honorable  mention  of  his  character  and  his 
services.  The  Senate  which  he  informed  with  wise  councils, 
which  he  adorned  with  dignity  of  manners  and  with  purity  of  life, 
bears  equal  testimony  to  his  abilities  and  to  his  virtues,  and  equal 
honor  to  his  memory." 


286  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

July  236.  Author's  correspondence  :  "  Headquarters  Army  of 
Virginia,  Washington.  General  Halleck,  from  the  West,  arrived 
to-day,  and  is  now  general-in-chief  of  the  army.  Colonel  Ruggles, 
chief  of  Pope's  staff,  says  that  arrangements  to  leave  for  'the 
front,'  cannot  be  completed  with  General  Halleck  before  Friday, 
25th  inst.  An  important  movement  is  now  on  foot.  General 
Hatch  of  General  Banks  corps,  is  with  the  advance  at  Culpeper. 
He  has  a  large  cavalry  force  with  orders  to  move  south  to  Gor- 
donville,  destroy  the  railroad  to  Lynchburg,  and  the  James  river 
canal,  if  possible,  the  two  sources  from  which  the  Confederates, 
at  Richmond,  receive  their  supplies.  General  Pope  says  if  Hatch 
is  successful,  the  President  will  make  him  a  major-general,  and 
that  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  must  follow. 

"  Charles  Wildman  and  myself  (Tenth  R.  I.  Vols.),  have  been 
summoned  before  General  Pope  to  answer  a  charge  of  appropriating 
his  fancy  cigars.  You  know  we  sleep  at  the  office.  Pope  is  very 
violent  and  profane  at  times.  This  was  one  of  the  times.  We 
finally  got  in  a  sockdolager  by  proving  that  we  didn't  smoke. 
Now  Gen.  Samuel  P.  Sturgis  is  the  cigar  forager.  We  have  seen 
him  walk  in  to  the  office,  step  up  to  the  mantel,  and  take  a  good 
handful  at  a  time, — but  we  thought  that  was  his  business — if  he 
could  forage  without  being  caught. 

"July  24th.  All  quiet  on  the  Potomac.  I  had  my  bunk  last 
night  on  top  of  an  old  shoe-case.  I  got  to  dreaming,  and  rolled 
off  on  the  floor.  I  jumped  up  quickly,  thinking  we  were  attacked, 
but  found  it  was  only  a  'change  of  base.' 

"July  25th.  General  Pope  is  becoming  vexed  and  impatient  at 
the  continued  delays.  His  letters  and  dispatches  are  harder  than 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


287 


Wm.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 


ever  to  make  out.     In  a  message  to 

President  Lincoln,  he  says  :    '  I   am 

becoming  anxious  and  uneasy  to  join 

my  command  in  the  field.'     Generals 

Burnside    and    McDowell    called   at 

headquarters  to-day.     Officers  in  gold 

lace  and  gilt  buttons  are  thick  here. 

There  are  brigadier-generals  enough 

on   Pennsylvania  Avenue,  if  not  at 

'the  front.'     I  met  Hon.  William  H. 

Seward,  to-day,   Secretary  of    State, 

out  for  a  walk.     It  was  Mr.  Seward, 

who,  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  spoke  of  the  antagonism  between 

slavery  and  freedom  as  an  '  irrepressible  conflict.' 

"A  cavalry  expedition  recently  went  within  thirty-five  miles 
of  Richmond,  to  Beaver  Dam  Creek  Station,  tearing  up  the 
railroad,  destroying  the  depot,  and  taking  a  Confederate  officer 
and  three  privates,  prisoners.  Well,  these  prisoners  were  at 
'headquarters'  to-day,  for  examination.  We  had  quite  a  talk 
with  them  when  the  officers  got  through.  They  were  a  rough 
looking  crowd,  no  two  dressed  alike.  The  stuff  their  clothes 
were  made  of,  looked  just  exactly  like  that  old  bagging  up 
in  the  attic.  Were  they  scared?  Not  any,  I  can  tell  you;  nor 
would  they  give  a  particle  of  information  to  anybody.  They 
wanted  to  know  how  quick  they  could  be  exchanged,  as  they 
wanted  to  get  right  back  to  the  Confederacy.  One  of  them,  an 
adjutant  of  the  First  Virginia  Cavalry,  said  to  me,  'You  uns  will 
find  it  will  take  the  North  a  right  smart  while  to  whip  the  South.' 


288  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

General  Hatch's  great  cavalry  expedition  to  Gordonville  was  a 
failure.  It  is  claimed  that  Hatch  didn't  obey  orders,  and  Pope 
has  relieved  him  from  command.  But  other  officers  say  that  the 
trouble  was  that  Stonewall  Jackson  got  there  first,  with  fifteen 
thousand  of  his  foot  cavalry. 

"July  26th.  The  President  has  issued  an  order  communicating 
information  of  the  death  of  Ex-President  Martin  Van  Buren.  As 
a  mark  of  respect  for  his  memory,  the  Executive  Mansion  and 
the  several  Departments,  except  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  will  be 
placed  in  mourning,  and  all  business  will  be  suspended,  to-day, 
during  the  funeral.  By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  suitable 
military  and  naval  honors  will  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  illus 
trious  dead.  The  national  flag  will  be  displayed  at  half  staff,  the 
troops  paraded,  the  orders  read  to  them,  and  minute  guns  will  be 
fired.  The  following  order  has  been  issued  here  : 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  VIRGINIA, 

WASHINGTON,  July  25,  1862. 
To  Brigadier- General  Sturgis  : 

The  Secretary  of  War  directs  by  an  order  received  at  these  headquarters  that 
the  preceding  orders  of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War  be  carried  into  effect 
to-morrow,  by  the  troops  in  this  district. 

Signed,  GEORGE  D.  RUGGLES. 

Colonel  and  Chief  of  Staff'. 

"  Later,  July  26th.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  Hotel,  near  George 
town  (a  small  family  hotel).  I  am  confined  to  my  bed  with 
a  severe  attack  of  malaria.  But  I  am  in  good  hands.  The  head 
quarters'  surgeon  is  looking  after  me,  and  a  lady  stopping  here  is 
very  kind,  who  says  I  remind  her  of  an  absent  brother.  It  was 
fortunate  for  me  that  I  wasn't  sent  to  a  hospital." 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  289 

"At  this  time  the  city  was  full  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  and 
more  were  arriving  daily  from  the  Peninsula.  Many  private  build 
ings  and  public  halls  were  taken  for  their  accommodation, — where 
they  could  receive  better  care  and  treatment.  Hundreds  of 
the  loyal  women  of  the  North  came  to  Washington  to  minister 
to  the  sick  soldiers,  and  many  a  poor  man  lives  to  be  grateful  to 
them  for  their  cooling  drinks  and  cheering  words.  Their  devo 
tion  touched  Mr.  Lincoln's  heart,  and  in  a  speech  which  he  made 
about  this  time  at  the  close  of  a  soldiers'  fair,  he  said  :  'I  am  not 
accustomed  to  the  language  of  eulogy  ;  I  have  never  studied  the 
art  of  paying  compliments  to  women,  but  I  must  say,  that  if  all 
that  has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets  since  the  creation  of  the 
world  in  praise  of  woman  were  applied  to  the  women  of  America, 
it  would  not  do  them  justice  for  their  conduct  during  this  war. 
God  bless  the  women  of  America!'  Much  good  was  accom 
plished  also,  by  those  who  remained  at  home,  in  corresponding  with 
the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  in  the  hospitals.  In  addition  to  many 
home  comforts  furnished,  the  sweet  influences  of  home  were  con 
tinued  and  cherished,  by  many  kindly  messages  of  advice  and 
encouragement.  Here  are  a  few  which  have  been  preserved  : 

"  '  Dear  Soldiers.     The  little  girls  of  send  this  box  to 

you.  They  hear  that  many  of  you  are  sick,  and  some  of  you  have 
been  wounded  in  battle.  They  are  very  sorry,  and  want  to  do 
something  for  you.  They  cannot  do  much,  for  they  are  small ; 
but  they  have  bought  with  their  own  money,  and  made  what  is  in 
here.  They  hope  it  will  do  some  good,  and  that  you  will  all  get 
well,  and  come  home.  We  all  pray  to  God  for  you  night  and 
morning.' 

37 


2QO  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"  In  another  case,  on  a  pillow  was  pinned  the  following  note  : 

"  '  My  dear  friend.  You  are  not  my  husband  or  son  ;  but  you 
are  the  husband  or  son  of  some  woman  who  undoubtedly  loves 
you  as  I  love  mine.  I  have  made  these  garments  for  you  with  a 
heart  that  aches  for  your  sufferings,  and  with  a  longing  to  come 
to  you,  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  you.  It  is  a  great  comfort  to 
me,  that  God  loves  and  pities  you,  pining  and  lonely  in  a  far  off 
hospital,  and  if  you  believe  in  God,  it  will  also  be  a  comfort  to 
you.  Are  you  near  death,  and  soon  to  cross  the  dark  river  ?  Oh, 
then,  may  God  soothe  your  last  hours,  and  lead  you  up  "the 
shining  shore,"  where  there  is  no  war,  no  sickness,  no  death. 
Call  on  Him,  for  He  is  an  ever  present  helper.' 

"'Dear  soldier.  If  these  socks  had  language  they  would  tell 
you  that  many  a  kind  wish  has  been  knit  into  them,  and  many  a 
tear  of  pity  for  you  has  bedewed  them.  We  all  think  of  you,  and 
want  to  do  everything  we  can  for  you,  for  we  feel  that  we  owe 
you  unlimited  love  and  gratitude,  and  that  you  deserve  the  very 
best  at  our  hands.' 

"  Here  is  another  of  a  different  character  : 

"'My  dear  boy.  I  have  knit  these  socks  expressly  for  you. 
How  do  you  like  them  ?  How  do  you  look,  and  where  do  you  live 
when  you  are  at  home  ?  7  am  nineteen  years  old,  of  medium 
height,  of  slight  build,  with  blue  eyes,  fair  complexion,  light  hair, 
and  a  good  deal  of  it.  Write  and  tell  me  all  about  yourself,  and 
how  you  get  on  in  the  hospital.  Direct  to . 

"  '  P.  S. — If  the  recipient  of  these  socks  has  a  wife,  will  he  please 
exchange  with  some  poor  fellow,  who  is  not  so  fortunate  ? ' 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  2QI 

"  'My  brave  friend.     I  have  learned  to  knit,  on  purpose  to  knit 

socks  for  the  soldiers.     This  is  my  fourth  pair.     My  name  is , 

and  I  live  in  .     Write  to  me,  and  tell   me   how  you  like  the 

foot-gear,  and  what  we  can  do  for  you.  Keep  up  your  courage, 
and  bye  and  bye  you  will  come  home  to  us.  Won't  that  be  a  grand 
time,  though  ?  And  won't  we  all  turn  out  to  meet  you,  with 
flowers  and  music,  and  cheers,  and  embraces  ?  "  There's  a  good 
time  coming,  boys!" 

"Very  many  of  these  notes  were  answered  by  the  soldiers  who 
received  them,  and  a  correspondence  ensued,  which  sometimes 
ended  in  life-long  friendship. 

"A  nicely  made  dressing  gown,  in  one  of  the  boxes,  had  one 
pocket  rilled  with  hickory  nuts,  and  the  other  with  ginger-snaps. 
The  pockets  were  sewed  across  to  prevent  the  contents  from 
dropping  out,  and  the  following  note  was  pinned  on  the  outside  : 

"  'My  dear  fellow  :  Just  take  your  ease  in  this  dressing-gown. 
Don't  mope,  and  have  the  blues,  if  you  are  sick.  Moping  never 
cured  anybody  yet.  Eat  your  nuts  and  cakes  if  you  are  well 
enough,  and  snap  your  fingers  at  dull  care.  I  wish  I  could  do 
more  for  you,  and  if  I  were  a  man  I  would  come  and  fight  with 
you.  Woman  though  I  am,  I'd  like  to  help  hang  Jeff  Davis 
higher  than  Haman, — yes,  and  all  who  aid  and  abet  him,  too, 
whether  North  or  South  ! ' 

"  There  was  exhumed  from  the  depths  of  one  great  box,  a 
bushel  of  cookies  tied  in  a  pillow-case,  with  this  benevolent  wish 
tacked  on  the  outside  :  '  These  cookies  are  expressly  for  the  sick 
soldiers,  and  if  anybody  else  eats  them,  I  hope  they  will  choke  him  ! ' 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"A  very  neatly  arranged  package,  of  second-hand  clothing,  but 
little  worn,  was  laid  by  itself.  Every  article  was  superior  in  qual 
ity,  and  in  manufacture.  Attached  to  it  was  the  following  card  : 

"'The  accompanying  articles  were  worn  for  the  last  time  by 
one  very  dear  to  the  writer,  who  lost  his  life  at  Shiloh.  They  are 
sent  to  our  wounded  soldiers  as  the  most  fitting  disposition  that 
can  be  made  of  them,  by  one  who  has  laid  the  husband  of  her 
youth — her  all — on  the  altar  of  her  country.' 

"Thus  we  can  realize  the  passionate  interest  in  the  soldiers, 
felt  by  the  women  of  the  North.  They  toiled,  retrenched,  econ 
omized,  to  furnish  the  necessary  supplies  for  the  hospitals,  and 
hallowed  them  with  their  patriotic  and  religious  spirit.  Like 
their  grandmothers  of  the  Revolution,  they  flung  heart  and  soul 
into  the  labor  of  willing  hands. 

"  Here  are  a  few  of  the  directions  on  boxes  for  the  hospitals  : 

"'For  the  love  of  God,  give  these  articles  to  the  sick  and 
wounded  to  whom  they  are  sent ! ' 

"  '  He  that  would  steal  from  a  sick  or  wounded  man,  would  rob 
hen-roosts,  or  filch  pennies  from  the  eyes  of  a  corpse  ! ' 

"  '  Surgeons  and  nurses  !  Hands  off  !  These  things  are  not  for 
you,  but  your  patients, — our  sick  and  wounded  boys  ! ' 

"  '  Don't  gobble  up  these  delicacies,  nurses  !  They  are  for  the 
boys  in  the  hospitals  ! ' 

"  We  close  these  sketches  with  a  scene  at  the  Washington 
barracks  : 

"  'A  pale  and  sick,  but  good  looking  soldier,  ready  for  transpor 
tation,  and  an  anxious  young  lady  nurse,  in  search  of  a  subject  : 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  293 

"Lady  nurse. — 'My  poor  fellow,  can  I  do  anything  for  you  ? ' 

"  Soldier  (emphatically). — '  No,  ma'am  !     Nothin'  !  ' 

"  Lady  nurse. — '  I  should  like  to  do  something  for  you  ?     Shall 

I  not  sponge  your  face  and  brow  for  you  ?  ' 

"  Soldier  (despairingly). — '  You  may  if  you  want   to,  very  bad  ! 

but    you'll  be  the  fourteenth   lady  as   has   done    it    this   blessed 

mornin'  ! ' 

Author's  correspondence  at  "  Headquarters  "  resumed  : 

"July  28th.  Before  General  Pope  left  Washington,  to  join  his 
army  in  the  field,  at  Warrenton,  Va.,  General  Halleck  announced 
his  purpose  to  withdraw  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  from  the 
James,  and  unite  it  with  the  Army  of  Virginia,  via  Fredericks- 
burg  ;  that  army  (under  Pope),  to  advance  promptly  to  the  Rapidan, 
keeping  the  approaches  to  Washington  covered,  and  oppose  and 
delay  any  advance  of  the  enemy  northward  to  the  last  extremity. 
On  the  next  day  (the  3Oth),  General  Halleck  ordered  General 
McClellan  to  send  away  his  sick,  and  on  the  3d  of  August  he 
telegraphed,  '  It  is  determined  to  withdraw  your  army  from  the 
Peninsula  to  Aquia  Creek.'  General  McClellan  again  protested 
against  this  movement,  as  did  Generals  Dix,  Burnside,  and  Sumner. 
General  Halleck  replied  :  '  There  is  no  alternative,  I  have  taken 
the  responsibility.'  The  movement  began  at  once.  Between  the 
ist  of  August  and  the  i6th,  14,159  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
were  sent  away,  many  of  them  necessarily  to  the  North.  The 
first  troops  arrived  at  Aquia  Creek  within  seven  days,  and  the 
last  of  the  infantry  within  twenty-six  days  after  the  receipt  of  the 
order. 


294  TIIE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"On  the  other  hand,  to  meet  the  advance  of  Pope,  Stonewall 
Jackson  with  his  own  and  Ewell's  division,  was  at  Gordonsville. 
General  Lee  says  in  his  official  report  :  '  The  army  at  Harrison's 
Landing  (McClellan's),  continuing  to  manifest  no  intention  of 
resuming  active  operations,  and  General  Pope's  advance  having 
reached  the  Rapidan,  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  division  was  ordered  on 
July  2/th  to  join  General  Jackson,  as  it  seemed  that  the  most 
effectual  way  to  relieve  Richmond  was  to  advance  upon  General 
Pope.'  This  was  promptly  done,  and  as  soon  as  General  Lee 
became  aware  of  the  movement  withdrawing  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  from  the  Peninsula,  he  turned  his  whole  army  north 
ward,  choosing  between  the  danger  of  losing  Richmond,  the  crush 
ing  of  Pope's  army  and  the  capture  of  Washington." 

"July  3Oth."  Author  resumes:  "Headquarters  Army  of 
Virginia,  in  the  Field,  Warrenton,  Va.  We  arrived  here  yester 
day  afternoon.  I  was  hardly  fit  to  come,  being  still  weak  from 
an  attack  of  malaria ;  but  when  I  found  that  headquarters  were 
really  off,  I  insisted  on  going,  also.  So,  here  I  am,  in  Warrenton, 
right  side  up,  I  guess,  only  a  little  the  worse  for  wear.  It  took 
us  about  two  hours  to  get  here,  via  Alexandria,  Manassas  and 
Catlett's  Station.  The  road  was  very  rough,  and  the  cars  were 
rickety.  Headquarters  are  established  at  the  Young  Ladies' 
Seminary,  a  large  brick  building,  pleasantly  located.  Our  office 
is  in  the  main  school-room,  and  we  now  occupy  the  school  desks. 
I  hardly  expected  to  attend  school  'down  in  old  Virginny!  '  As 
everything  here  is  contraband  of  war,  we  went  through  the  desks 
this  morning,  in  search  of  information  for  General  Pope,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  capturing  quite  a  quantity  of  female  correspondences. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


295 


The  Author  at  17,  "at  Headquarters 
in   Warrenton,  Va. 


The  young  ladies  of  this  school  appear 
to  be  in  a  very  rebellious  state  of  mind, 
judging  from  these  little  rebel  billet 
doux,  fancifully  folded,  three  cornered 
and  otherwise,  they  were  evidently  in 
tended  for  parting  gifts,  when  the  school 
broke  up  in  a  hurry.  One  young  lady, 
after  enlarging  on  her  music  lessons, 
and  a  recent  serenade,  adds:  'I  hope 
the  Yankees  won't  get  my  letter ! ' 
Another,  addressed  to  « My  Dear  Eloise,' 
is  more  pathetic,  and  expresses  a  sort  of  melancholy  foreboding. 
She  says:  'That  was  a  very  sad  accident,  was  it  not,  which 
befell  our  beloved  General  Ashby  ?  It  does  seem  as  though  all 
our  distinguishd  men  were  being  taken  !  Oh  !  if  we  could  only 
have  piece  once  more,  how  delightful  it  would  be  !  '  (The  loss 
of  General  Ashby  was  greatly  mourned  in  the  South.  He  was 
one  of  the  leading  cavalry  commanders  of  Stonewall  Jackson's 
army,  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Cross  Keys,  Va.,  June  6th.) 
Another  letter  captured  by  my  comrade  Charles  Wildman,  of  the 
Tenth,  was  signed,  Hattie  P.  Beauregard,  Corinth,  Miss.  He  was 
very  choice  of  it,  pretending  to  believe  that  it  had  come  direct 
from  General  Beauregard's  headquarters,  and  was  probably  the 
production  of  one  of  his  fair  daughters.  They  all  indicated  a 
scarcity  of  envelopes,  being  directed  like  the  inclosed  on  coarse 
brown  paper  wrappers.  Probably  home  communication  will  be 
more  difficult  from  here  than  from  Washington.  I  don't  suppose 
that  we  will  remain  here  long,  as  General  Pope  means  to  push  on. 


296  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"The  Confederate  prints  indicate  the  spirit  of  the  Southern 
women  :  '  Messrs.  Editors,  I  see  that  General  Beauregard  has 
called  for  bells,  to  be  manufactured  into  cannon.  I  send  mine  as 
a  beginning.'  Another  says,  '  I  send  you  the  weight  which  was 
attached  to  the  striking  part  of  our  clock,  with  the  hope  that 
every  woman  in  the  Confederacy  will  do  likewise.' 

"The  members  of  one  of  the  regiments  stationed  here  have 
'  good  mouths  for  music.'  Here  is  their  programme  for  to-morrow 


night  : 


NINTH    NEW   YORK    REGIMENT    SOCIAL   UNION, 

Warrenton   Hotel,  Thursday  Evening,  July  31,   1862. 


PROGRAMME. 


PART  FIRST. 

Grand  March  :   "  Norma," BAND. 

Old  Musketeer, GRAHAM  &  Co. 

Ballad, LODEN. 

Comic  Song,          ...........      BARNES. 

Recitation,  HOWARD. 

Ballad,  JOYCE. 

Virginia  Rose  Bud, GRAHAM  &  Co. 

PART  SECOND. 

Storm  Galop, BAND. 

Happy  Dreams, ATKINSON. 

Recitation:   "  Lady  of  Lyons," LIEUTENANT  HUBBARD. 

Comic  Song, ADJUTANT  TUTHILL. 

Ballad;   "  Miller's  Song," GRAHAM. 

Duett:  "Larboard  Watch,"          ....  ATKINSON  AND  GRAHAM. 

Fairy  Bell,  chorus, THOMPSON  &  Co. 

Limerick  Races,  ATKINSON  &  Co. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  297 

"Warrenton  is  a  pleasant  Virginia  town.  It  is  at  the  ter 
minus  of  the  Warrenton  branch  of  the  Orange  and  Alexandria 
Railroad,  and  nine  miles  from  Warrenton  junction.  It  appears  to 
be  a  place  of  considerable  importance,  and  before  the  war  had  a 
population  of  about  eight  thousand.  Most  of  the  men  are  in  the 
Confederate  service,  the  once  celebrated  Black  Horse  Cavalry 
having  been  principally  recruited  in  this  vicinity.  The  people 
remaining  are  entirely  secesh,  and  several  of  our  men  have  been 
shot  at  from  the  windows.  The  churches  are  occupied  for  hos 
pital  purposes.  The  streets  are  bordered  with  fine  shade  trees. 
Near  by  is  the  former  elegant  residence  of  the  Confederate 
general,  Gustavus  W.  Smith. 

"August  2d.  Great  numbers  of  our  troops  are  constantly 
passing  here  for  Culpeper  Court  House,  and  the  roads  are  liter 
ally  blocked."  As  we  watched  them  they  appeared  more  like  an 
army  of  boys  on  a  holiday  excursion  than  soldiers  who  within  a 
brief  week  would  be  tried  in  the  fierce  encounter  at  Cedar 
Mountain.  Yet  the  official  record  shows  that  the  younger  men 
stood  the  test  of  marching  and  fighting  far  better  than  the  older 
comrades.  The  Union  Army  was  made  up  mainly  of  very  young 
men.  It  averaged  a  little  under  twenty-two  years  of  age,  The 
"  walk-soldiers,"  as  the  cavalrymen  called  them,  looked  with  envious 
eyes  upon  the  officers,  booted  and  spurred,  as  they  galloped  gayly 
ahead  with  their  clinking  sabres,  and  many  a  foot-soldier,  like 
our  own  worthy  Gen.  Horatio  Rogers,  won  his  horse  and  spurs 
by  faithful  and  gallant  service.  General  Rogers's  motto  when  a 
foot-soldier,  with  which  he  earned  his  way  to  deserved  promotion, 
was  "a  horse  or  a  hearse." 

38 


298  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

"August  2d,  later.  Headquarters  are  ordered  to  Sperryville 
to-day,  and  by  advice  of  the  surgeon,  I  have  been  ordered  back  to 
Washington  for  proper  care  and  treatment.  The  fact  is  that 
hard  fare,  hard  travelling,  and  hard  work,  has  brought  about  a 
slight  relapse  of  fever."  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment,  I  remem 
ber,  to  be  left  behind,  and  witness  the  gay  departure  of  officers 
and  comrades,  as  they  rode  rapidly  away  towards  Sperryville ;  but 
subsequent  events  proved  it  to  be  a  kind  Providence  which  inter 
posed  in  my  behalf.  From  that  day  General  Pope's  headquarters 
were  chiefly  in  the  saddle,  "  somewhere  on  the  Warrenton  road." 
His  advance,  under  General  Banks,  met  the  enemy  under  Stone 
wall  Jackson,  August  Qth,  at  Cedar  Mountain,  and  although  re 
pulsed  with  heavy  loss,  he  succeeded  in  maintaining  his  position, 
until  the  main  army,  under  Pope,  arrived,  when  an  advance  was 
made  to  the  Rapidan  River,  the  movement  being  to  delay  and 
retard  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  until  Pope's  army  could  be  rein 
forced  from  the  Peninsula.  Soon  after  the  Union  army  fell  back 
slowly  from  one  position  to  another  towards  Washington,  Pope  suc 
cessfully  delaying  his  assailants,  but  unable  to  hold  them  in  check. 
Daring  and  successful  raids  were  made  on  his  train  on  the  night 
of  August  22cl,  by  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  at  Catlett's  Station, 
thirty-eight  miles  from  Washington,  and  by  Stonewall  Jackson, 
August  24th,  at  Manassas,  twenty-seven  miles  from  Washington, 
which  caused  him  to  fall  back  more  rapidly.  The  Federal  army 
fought  bravely  and  suffered  severely  a  second  time  at  Bull  Run, 
on  the  30th  of  August,  but  by  stubbornly  disputing  the  way,  Gen 
eral  Pope  had  gained  time  for  McClellan's  army  to  reach  the 
scene  of  action,  and  thus  Washington  was  saved. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


299 


Picketing  the  Rapidan. 


On  the  evening  of  August  2cl,  my 
comrade  of  the  "Tenth"  and  at  "  Head 
quarters,"  C.  H.  Wildman,  wrote  me 
from  Little  Washington,  Va.  :  "We  are 
now  encamped  in  a  fine  place  in  the 
woods.  We  have  wall-tents,  and  only 
three  in  a  tent.  We  shall  fare  well, 
and  have  a  colored  cook  from  the  cav 
alry.  By  orders  just  issued  we  expect 
to  come  in  contact  with  old  Stonewall 
Jackson  very  soon."  Again  on  the  loth,  he  wrote  me  from  head 
quarters,  at  Culpeper,  Va. :  "  We  started  from  our  camp  at  or 
near  Little  Washington,  on  Thursday  morning.  We  encamped 
that  evening  about  seven  miles  from  Sperryville,  by  the  side  of 
a  wood.  That  evening  one  of  General  Banks's  men,  was  out  in 
the  woods,  looking  round,  when  a  party  of  guerillas  appeared  and 
shot  him.  General  Pope  sent  out  a  company  of  cavalry,  but  did 
not  find  them.  We  arrived  at  Culpeper  yesterday  morning,  and 
went  about  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  stopped  at  a  house,  on  a 
large  farm.  Of  course  you  remember  General  Pope's  address  : 
'We,  in  the  West,  have  always  seen  the  backs  of  our  enemies! 
Let  us  look  before,  and  not  behind  us  !  No  modes  of  retreat,  etc.' 
But  I  notice,  though,  that  we  retreated  yesterday  on  the  double- 
quick,  without  stopping  to  look  behind  us  !  Old  Stonewall  was 
within  three  and  a  half  miles  of  headquarters  yesterday,  and  I 
tell  you  we  just  pulled  up  stakes  and  travelled  for  Culpeper  hum 
ming.  We  went  away  out  of  the  town,  and  had  just  got  things 
into  shape,  and  tents  up,  when  troop  after  troop  of  cavalry  came 


300 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


^^^^^^^:'^mm. 


down  the  road 
pell-mell,  till  in 
a  few  minutes  it 
was  completely 
blocked  with 
them.  Come  to 
find  out,  Jack 
son  had  crossed 
the  Rapidan  in 
force  and  driven 
our  pickets,  and 
we,  having  cav 
alry  only,  and 
he  plenty  of  ar 
tillery,  we  were 

obliged  to  retire  in  a  hurry.  On  the  way  back,  we  met  the  bri 
gades  going  out.  They  appeared  full  of  fight,  and  some  were 
singing  and  others  laughing  at  each  other's  jokes.  There  are 
between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  of  our  troops." 

August  1 6th,  from  headquarters  near  Cedar  Mountain,  he 
wrote:  "  On  Saturday  afternoon,  August  Qth,  the  ball  opened 
here.  It  was  a  terrific  encounter.  General  Banks  bravely  held 
his  ground  against  vastly  superior  force  of  the  rebels.  Our  loss 
was  over  fifteen  hundred,  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  General 
Pope  and  staff  arrived  on  the  field  about  seven  P.  M.  They  would 
not  let  the  clerks  go,  but  I  could  not  see  it  in  that  light,  and 
went  out  in  the  evening  with  the  surgeons.  I  shall  never  forget 
that  night.  There  were  hundreds  of  killed  and  wounded  men. 


General  Pope's  Headquarters  at  Cedar  Mountain. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  30 1 

The  battle  was  over,  but  an  artillery  fire  was  kept  up  till  mid 
night.  I  went  out  again  on  Tuesday,  I2th  instant,  and  saw  the 
old  devils,  just  as  the  last  of  them  skedaddled  for  the  Rapiclan. 
I  came  near  getting  my  old  head  knocked  off,  too.  I  tell  you 
that  was  quite  a  little  fight  (Cedar  Mountain,  Qth  instant).  Col 
onel  Ruggles,  Chief  of  Staff,  had  a  horse  shot  under  him.  Colonel 
Morgan,  who  signed  your  last  pass,  got  a  bullet  through  his  hat, 
and,  in  fact,  Pope  and  the  whole  staff  came  near  being  captured. 
We  shall  move  forward  again  to-morrow,  to  the  Rapiclan,  to  join 
the  advance.  Our  pickets  watch  that  river  from  Raccoon's  Ford 
to  the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  We  now  have  a  colored  cook,  and 
have  ordered  cooking  utensils  forwarded  here  from  Washington." 
But  on  that  very  day  August  i6th,  a  party  of  Confederate  cav 
alry  was  captured,  with  orders  from  General  Lee,  which  disclosed 
the  plan  that  he  was  moving  northward,  by  forced  marches,  with 
the  main  Army  of  Richmond,  to  attack  Pope's  little  army  with 
overwhelming  force  before  he  could  be  reinforced  by  the  troops 
from  the  Peninsula.  In  consequence  of  this  information,  General 
Pope  hastily  broke  up  his  camps  on  the  Rapiclan  and  on  the  i8th 
and  iQth,  retired  to  a  new  position  behind  the  north  branch  of  the 
Rappahannock,  in  the  hope  that  by  holding  the  fords,  sufficient 
time  would  be  gained  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  come  to 
his  relief.  But  Lee  and  Jackson  had  pressed  forward  with  such 
vigor,  that  General  Halleck  soon  found,  when  it  was  too  late,  that 
the  line  of  the  Rappahannock  was  too  far  forward  for  the  union 
of  Pope's  and  McClellan's  armies.  The  troops  which  had  not 
been  landed  were  conveyed  to  Alexandria,  and  assembled  in  time 
to  assure  the  safety  of  the  capital. 


;02 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


-  -vrsr-^r.---- ..--  -_:  -^^^_. 
;--  &H 


Catlett's  Station  in  1862. 


On  August  22d, 
when  General 
Pope  was  watch 
ing  the  line  of 
the  Rappahan- 
nock,  Gen.  J.  E. 
B.  Stuart,  the 
noted  Confed 
erate  cavalry 
leader,  made  a 
daring  raid  in 
his  rear,  with 

fifteen  hundred  horsemen,  to  interrupt  his  railroad  communica 
tions  with  Washington.  Stuart  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at 
Waterloo  Bridge,  and  marching  rapidly  via  Warrenton,  arrived 
at  Catlett's  Station,  General  Pope's  camp,  after  dark.  My  com 
rade,  Wildman,  of  the  Tenth,  says  :  "The  rain  poured  in  torrents, 
and  the  sudden  attack  at  midnight  was  a  complete  surprise. 
Everyone  at  headquarters  was  startled  from  sleep  by  the  firing  of 
volley  after  volley  in  their  midst,  and  all  started  up  in  the  dark 
ness,  in  the  endeavor  to  find  a  place  of  safety,  'I  escaped,'  "  he 
said,  "but  had  a  hard  tramp  through  the  mud,  rain,  and  darkness, 
—but  I  am  thankful  to  get  off  alive."  Fortunately  for  the  author, 
his  brief  leave  of  absence  from  headquarters,  to  recover  his  health, 
was  perhaps  the  means  of  saving  his  life,  as  he  could  hardly  have 
withstood,  in  his  physical  condition,  the  perils  and  exposures  of 
that  night  attack.  Stuart  and  his  horsemen  remained,  gathering 
up  the  spoils  till  a  little  before  daylight,  when  they  departed 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  303 

southward,  via  Warrenton  Springs.  They  carried  off  about  two 
hundred  horses,  General  Pope's  uniform,  baggage,  and  important 
dispatches,  several  of  his  clerks  and  staff  officers,  and  about  two 
hundred  prisoners.  A  few  were  killed  on  both  sides.  All  the 
sick  men  were  taken  from  the  hospitals,  and  many  of  them  were 
put  on  the  Confederate  horses  to  ride.  All  this  happened  in  the 
rear  of  General  Pope's  army,  within  thirty-five  miles  of  Washing 
ton,  on  the  night  of  August  22d. 

Encouraged  by  the  success  of  Stuart's  raid,  Stonewall  Jackson 
with  his  own  and  Early's  division,  started  a  day  or  two  later, 
made  a  grand  circuit  to  Pope's  right,  through  Thoroughfare  Gap, 
and  on  the  night  of  the  25th,  struck  the  Orange  and  Alexandria 
Railroad,  at  Manassas  Junction,  capturing  an  immense  quantity 
of  army  supplies.  This  movement  caused  Pope  to  abandon  the 
line  of  the  Rappahannock  and  his  communication  with  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  concentrate  his  whole  army  in  the  neighborhood  of  War 
renton  and  Gainesville,  to  reopen  the  railroad  to  Washington,  and, 
if  possible,  crush  Jackson.  But  Longstreet  succeeded  in  making 
a  junction  with  Jackson  via  Thoroughfare  Gap,  on  the  morning 
of  August  29th,  on  the  same  field  on  which  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run  was  fought  in  1861.  Then  followed  the  second  battle 
of  Bull  Run.  The  Union  army  fought  bravely,  and  General  Pope 
showed  his  usual  energy,  but  on  the  following  day,  the  3Oth,  the 
Confederates  succeeded  in  driving  his  army  across  Bull  Run  to 
Centreville,  from  which  they  retired  in  good  order  to  the  defences 
of  Washington,  but  General  Pope  had  succeeded  in  gaining  time 
for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  assemble  for  the  defence  of 
Washington. 


304 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 


One  of  the  officers  of  General 
Pope's  staff,  in  the  campaign  of 
July  and  August,  1862  (who  has 
since  won  a  national  reputation  as 
•a  civil  engineer),  was  Washington 
Augustus  Roebling.  Under  his 
direction  a  suspension  bridge  was 
constructed  across  the  Rappahan- 
nock  River,  early  in  1862,  and  later 
another  across  the  Shenandoah,  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  He  served  till 
January,  1865.  His  greatest  work 
is  the  building  of  the  Brooklyn  sus 
pension  bridge,  which  was  begun 
in  1869,  and  completed  in  1883. 
This  structure,  built  by  him,  is  the  largest  suspension  bridge  in 
the  world,  and  cost  about  $13,000,000.  The  picture  shows  it 
incomplete,  as  it  was  in  1877,  when  the  writer  crossed  it  by  the 
picket  foot-path  attached  to  the  cables  suspended  from  the  tops  of 
the  towers.  Its  total  length,  including  approaches,  is  about  6,000 
feet,  or  one  and  one-eighth  miles. 

Charles  H.  Wildman,  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island,  from  General 
Pope's  headquarters,  rejoined  the  regiment  at  Washington,  August 
25th.  As  he  told  the  story  of  the  night  attack  and  escape  at 
Catlett's  Station,  on  the  night  of  the  22d,  he  became  the  centre  of 
interest.  He  agreed  that  the  order  for  "  cooking  utensils  for  Cedar 
Mountain,"  might  safely  be  countermanded,  and  was  glad  to  let 
General  Pope's  "  line  of  retreat  "  take  care  of  itself. 


Brooklyn  Suspension    Bridge. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  305 

We  regret  to  record  the  death  of  Private  Mathew  M.  Meggett, 
of  Company  B,  who  died  of  typhoid  fever,  in  the  hospital,  at  Fort 
Pennsylvania,  August  iSth.  He  was  a  young  man  greatly  be 
loved  by  his  companions,  and  was  a  student  of  Brown  University. 
A  sketch  of  his  life  is  given  on  page  30. 

The  Tenth  Regiment  and  Battery  arrived  home,  via  Baltimore, 
Harrisburg,  and  Elizabethport,  N.  J.,  on  the  morning  of  August 
28th,  and  was  received  with  a  national  salute,  and  escorted  by 
the  Marine  Artillery  and  the  First  Ward  Light  Guards,  led  by 
the  American  Band,  to  Exchange  Place,  where  it  was  dismissed 
to  the  several  armories  to  receive  the  hospitalities  and  congratu 
lations  of  its  friends. 

The  Providence  Journal  of  the  iSth  thus  welcomed  its  return  : 

The  Tenth  Regiment  and  Battery,  which  have  completed  their  term  of  ser 
vice,  sailed  from  New  York  yesterday,  at  one  o'clock,  in  the  steamer  Buy  State, 
which  probably  anchored  in  the  bay  during  the  night. 

The  gallant  fellows  will  come  up  as  soon  as  the  tide  allows,  and  several  of 
the  companies  will  have  special  receptions  by  the  companies  of  the  National 
Guards,  to  which  they  respectively  belonged.  And  all  will  be  most  cordially 
welcomed  home  by  their  friends  and  neighbors.  These  brave  men  went  oft"  on 
the  shortest  notice,  at  the  time  that  Washington  was  supposed  to  be  in  danger, 
after  Banks's  retreat  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  They  went  in  the  closing 
days  of  May.  It  has  so  happened  that  they  have  not  been  called  into  active 
service  on  the  battlefield.  But  they  went  prepared  and  expecting  to  meet  the 
foe.  It  was  not  their  fault  that  they  did  not  meet  him.  They  have  been  en 
gaged  most  of  the  time  in  most  exhausting  labors.  They  have  been  construct 
ing,  altering  or  strengthening  forts,  and  have  performed  the  most  wearying 
tasks.  They  have  discharged  their  duties  with  credit  to  themselves,  and  to  their 
state.  We  rejoice  that  we  can  now  take  them  by  the  hand  and  bid  them  a 
hearty  WELCOME  HOME  ! 

39 


306  THE    TENTH    REGIMENT 

September  ist.  The  several  companies  of  the  Tenth  Regiment 
were  mustered  out  of  service  and  paid  off  this  morning.  The 
following  farewell  order  from  Colonel  Shaw  was  read  to  the 
companies  : 

HEADQUARTERS   TENTH  R.  I.  VOLS., 

PROVIDENCE,  September  i,    1862. 
Special  Order  No.  48. 

The  term  for  which  this  regiment  was  called  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  has  now  expired,  and  the  Colonel  Commanding  takes  this  opportunity 
to  return  to  each  and  every  officer,  and  every  man  of  his  command,  his  thanks 
for  the  courtesy  and  kindness  that  have  marked  their  intercourse. 

Suddenly  called  from  the  quiet  pursuits  of  private  life  to  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  the  camp,  you  have  vindicated  the  character  of  the  National  Guard 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  shown  that  the  citizen  soldier  can  be  depended  upon  when 
the  country  is  in  danger.  The  dispatch  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  our  Gover 
nor,  saying  that  General  Banks  was  completely  routed,  and  that  the  enemy  was 
advancing  on  Washington,  reached  this  city  at  midnight.  At  nine  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  you  were  called  on  to  assemble  a-nd  to  volunteer  for  the  defence 
of  the  Capital.  At  7.30  o'clock  the  same  evening,  your  Commandant  had  the 
honor  of  presenting  six  hundred  and  thirteen  names  to  the  Governor,  as  ready 
to  respond  to  his  call:  within  thirty  hours  from  the  first  call,  you  were  armed, 
equipped,  and  ready  to  proceed  to  Washington,  with  every  expectation  of  imme 
diate  active  service. 

Starting  from  home  in  the  midst  of  a  pouring  rain,  crowded  in  the  cars  on 
your  long  and  tedious  journey,  packed  in  the  barracks  at  Washington,  march 
ing  to  Tennallytown  under  a  burning  sun,  then  drenched  and  chilled  by  the 
heavy  rain  that  greeted  your  arrival  in  camp  :  these,  with  the  cold  and  stormy 
weather  of  the  next  three  weeks,  were  experiences  to  try  even  older  soldiers. 

Breaking  camp  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  June,  you  marched  to  Fairfax 
Seminary,  eighteen  miles,  in  six  and  a  half  hours,  with  every  man  in  his  place 
in  the  ranks.  Three  days  after,  while  yet  foot-sore  and  weary  from  your  last 
march,  you  were  ordered  to  return  and  garrison  the  fort  near  your  old  camp. 
Arriving  there  at  two  o'clock  the  next  morning,  after  working  and  marching 
for  twenty-two  hours,  you  came  into  your  cheerless  bivouac  with  a  cheerful 
song.  Well  did  our  Colonel  say,  "A  better  regiment  I  never  saw."  Separated 
from  each  other,  with  so  many  batteries  and  forts  to  garrison,  your  duties  were 
necessarily  more  numerous  and  severe,  while  the  extra  work  at  Battery  Ver 
mont,  was  well  calculated  to  tax  your  patience  to  the  utmost. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


307 


A  kind  Providence  has  spared  you  from  the  dangers  of  the  battlefield,  but 
judging  from  the  manner  in  which  every  other  duty  was  performed,  the  call  for 
battle  should  have  met  with  a  ready  response. 

Sickness  has  visited  your  camp,  and  three  of  your  members  have  been  taken 
away  from  you  by  death,  leaving  the  legacy  of  a  bright  example  of  soldierly 
faithfulness,  to  a  regiment  that  will  ever  cherish  their  memory. 

Of  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  regiment,  your  Commandant  could  not 
speak  in  too  high  praise.  It  has  been  all  that  could  be  asked,  and  the  guard 
house  has  been  almost  a  useless  institution.  And,  now,  as  you  close  your 
labors,  vou  can  carry  with  you  the  consciousness  of  having  faithfully  performed 
every  duty,  and  you  will  receive,  as  you  deserve,  the  thanks  of  your  fellow- 
citizens. 

By  order, 

JAMES    SHAW,  JR., 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

Adjutant. 


Mustered   Out. 


3oS 


THE    TENTH    REGIMENT. 


The  portrait  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Hale,  has  just  been 
received.  He  was  the  captain 
of  Company  I,  until  August 
nth,  when  he  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant -colonel.  He 
was  an  ideal  officer,  and  the 
author  of  the  interesting  let 
ters  in  the  Evening  Press, 
from  the  Tenth  Regiment, 
signed  Mathew  Bagnet. 

The  fine  view  of  Fort  Alex 
ander,  on  the  opposite  page, 
will  be  appreciated  by  the 
members  of  Companies  E 
and  I,  of  the  "  Bloody  "  Tenth  Rhode  Island,  as  it  was  christened 
in  icS62.  It  was  reproduced  from  a  larger  sketch  furnished  by 
Hon.  Henry  R.  Barker,  formerly  a  sergeant  of  Company  I. 

Some  of    the  more    familiar    bugle-calls  will  touch  responsive 
chords  in  the  memory  of  the  old  comrades  : 


Lieut.-Col.  William  M.  Hale. 


The  Reveille. 

=  J  Allegro. 


D.  C. 


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H    O 


=.     H 


I  5 

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5     D 

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130  —  J  Presto. 


The  General. 


— ?=^=p?==»q  EEEfEF:?!:::;  Er"=Er^^E=?^3id~ 


T/ie  Assembly. 


80  = 


.  . 


E 


2£I=ZfZI 


81  =      Andante. 


To  f/i*?    Color. 


EiEEl    E3!niE:  =F=QEl::b:~E: 


Dinner  Call. 


3  3 


3  3 


80  =  J  Andante. 


Church   Call. 


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E=e-z=: 
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Officers'     Call. 


c==  =|  :=fF-F- 


Retreat. 


+^  -*-^  ^*^-*'  •+-+-0-0-' 


Tattoo. 


112=   I  Allegro. 


x—        *-  —  x— 


P    i     *-s  —  _g-ppri|-  —  Es- 


General. 


Llf p 1 "£-  t—* 


Boots  and  Saddles. 


To  Horse. 


f»\ 

Uti 


To 


To  the  Standard. 


Stable    Call. 


ifl 


Fatigue     Call. 


—i — r- 


TENTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS. 


FIELD    AND    STAFF. 


Colonels — ZENAS  R.   BLISS,  JAMES  SHAW,  JR. 
Lieutenant-Colonels — JAMES  SHAW,  JR.,   WILLIAM   M.   HALE. 
Majors — C.   H.   MERRIMAN  (Acting),   JACOB  T.   BABBITT. 
Surgeon — GEORGE  D.  WILCOX. 
Assistant-Surgeon — ALBERT  G.   S PRAGUE. 
Chaplain — A.   HUNTINGTON  CLAPP. 

Adjutants — B.  F.  THURSTON  (Acting),  JOHN  F.  TOBEY. 
Quartermasters  —  JAMES     H.    ARMINGTON,    WINTHROP    DE\VOLF, 

CHARLES  W.  ANGELL. 

Sergeant-Majors — JOHN  F.  TOBEY  (Acting),  EDWARD  K.   GLEZEN. 
Quartermaster-Sergeant — LYSANDER  FLAGG. 
Hospital  Steward — CHARLES  G.   KING. 
Commissary-Sergeant — JAMES  O.   SWAN. 


COMPANY    OFFICERS. 


COMPANY  A. 

Capt.  WILLIAM  E.  TABER,  ist  Lt.  JOSEPH  L.  BENNETT.  JR., 

2cl  Lt.  LEANDER  C.  BELCHER. 

COMPANY    B. 
Capt.  ELISHA  DYER, 

ist  Lt.  SAMUEL  H.  THOMAS,  2d  Lt.  WILLIAM  C.  CHASE, 

"      WILLIAM  C.  CHASE,  "       CHARLES  F.  PHILLIPS. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  315 

COMPANY    C. 

Capt.  JEREMIAH  M.  VOSE,  ist  Lt.  JOHN  E.  BRADFORD, 

2d  Lt.  CALEB  B.  HARRINGTON. 

COMPANY    D. 

Capt.  CHARLES  H.  DUNHAM  (Acting),         Capt.  WILLIAM  S.  SMITH, 
ist  Lt.  JAMES  H.  ARMINGTON,  2cl  Lt.  WINTHROP   DE\¥OLF, 

"      WINTHROP  DEWOLF,  "       CHARLES  Wr.  ANGELL. 

COMPANY    E. 

Capt.  HOPKINS  B.  CADV,  ist  Lt.  STEPHEN  THURBER, 

2cl  Lt.  MOSES  O.  DARLING. 

COMPANY    F. 

Capt.  BENJAMIN  W.  HARRIS,  ist  Lt.  ORVILLE  P.  JONES, 

2d  Lt.  GEORGE  W.  FAIRBANKS. 

COMPANY    G. 

Capt.  A.  CRAWFORD  GREENE,  ist  Lt.  JAMES  H.  ALLEN, 

2cl  Lt.  EBEN  BURLINGAME. 

COMPANY    H. 

Capt.  CHRISTOPHER  DUCKWORTH,  ist  Lt.  NICHOLAS  B.  BOLLES, 

2d  Lt.  WILLIAM   H.  MASON. 

COMPANY    I. 

Capt.  WILLIAM  M.  HALE,  ist  Lt.  CHARLES  H.  MUMFORD, 

"     SAMUEL  H.  THOMAS,  2cl  Lt.  PETER  ALEXANDER  REID. 

COMPANY    K. 
Capt.  G.  FRANK  Low,  ist  Lt.  JOHN  F.  TOBEY, 

2cl  Lt.  WILLIAM  G.  PETTIS. 

COMPANY    L. 
Tenth  Light  Battery  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 


THE    OLD    COFFEE    KETTLE. 

(  Tune.-  "  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket,"  or  "  Araby's  Daughter.") 

—  In  singing  these  ten  line  verses  to  the  printed  music,  sing  twfce  the  notes  in  second 
.      .     r          •  -  i    /- —  i-x    /^          — » »~  w~~:--";-~  J'~- * u~ '"usic  for  last  two  lines  ol 


Jiiie  (c.r  bar)  of  music  before  D.  C.   or  return  to  beginning  lor  the 
each  verse. 


fine. 


H 


OW  dear  to  our  hearts  are  the  days  when  we  soldiered, 

As  fond  recollection  presents  them  to  view; 
The  long  line  of  earthworks,  the  deep  tangled  thicket, 

And  every  rough  spot  that  our  army  life  knew, 
The  long  parks  of  artillery,  with  harness  and  saddle, 

The  picket  roped  horses  oft  trying  to  roll ; 
The  cook-house,  the  guard  tent  and  the  muskets  stacked  nigh  it, 

And  the  old  Coffee  Kettle  that  hung  on  a  pole; 
That  old  Coffee  Kettle,  that  welcome  old  kettle, 

The  old  Coffee  Kettle  that  hung  on  a  pole. 

How  dear  to  this  day  are  the  forms  and  the  faces, 

Of  those  who  stood  with  us  in  those  trying  times; 
So  many  are  gone  from  their  ranks  and  their  places, 

It  mightily  shortens  the  original  lines; 
Hard  camping  and  marching  we  all  well  remember, 

And  everything  trying  to  body  and  soul ; 
Yet  one  thing  we  had  that  was  genuine  pleasure, 

'Twas  the  old  Coffee  Kettle  that  hung  on  a  pole, 
That  old  Coffee  Kettle,  that  welcome  old  kettle, 

The  old  Coffee  Kettle  that  hung  on  a  pole. 


TENTH   LIGHT   BATTERY 

R.   I.   VOLUNTEERS. 


T 


HE  Tenth  Battery  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers  was  raised 
simultaneously  with  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  regiments  of 
infantry,  for  three  months'  service 
in  Washington.  It  was  mainly 
recruited  from  the  Providence 
Marine  Corps  of  Artillery,  under 
the  supervision  of  Col.  Edwin  C. 
Gallup,  and  other  officers  of  this 
organization,  who  went  into  service  as  officers  of  the  Tenth  Bat 
tery,  taking  position  as  they  stood  in  the  home  organization,  as 
follows  :  Captain,  Edwin  C.  Gallup ;  Senior  First  Lieutenant, 
Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.  ;  Second  Senior  Lieutenant,  Amos  D. 
Smith,  Jr.;  Junior  First  Lieutenant,  Frank  A.  Rhodes;  Junior 
Second  Lieutenant,  Henry  Pearce. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1862,  Governor  Sprague  received  a  dis 
patch  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  announcing  that  the  little  army 
under  command  of  Gen.  N.  P.  Banks  had  been  routed,  that  the 


Battery  on   Dri 


iS 


THE    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERY 


Capt.   Edwin   C.  Gallup. 


enemy  were  advancing  on  Washington, 
and  calling  upon  the  Governor  to  send  all 
his  available  militia  to  the  defence  of  the 
capital. 

Under  special  orders  from  the  adjutant- 
general's  office  of  Rhode  Island,  Colonel 
Gallup  was  directed  to  organize  a  com 
pany  of  artillery,  and  assisted  by  his  fel 
low  officers,  he  immediately  commenced 
the  formation  of  the  Tenth  Battery. 
On  the  2Qth  of  May,  Lieut.  Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.,  started  for 
Washington  with  a  detachment  of  ninety  men  and  three  officers. 
Lieutenants  Frank  A.  Rhodes  and  Amos  D.  Smith,  Jr.,  went 
with  this  detachment,  which  arrived  in  Washington  on  Sunday 
morning,  May  3ist,  and  reported  to  Governor  Sprague,  who  had 
preceded  his  troops  to  the  capital. 

The  detachment  of  the  battery  was  immediately  ordered  to 
Tennallytown,  a  village  seven  miles  from  Washington,  where  it 
arrived  at  noon  and  reported  to  Col.  Charles  T.  Robbins,  of  the 
Ninth  Rhode  Island  Infantry.  The  detachment  was  received 
with  cheers  from  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Regiments. 
The  first  camp  was  located  at  the  right  of  and  in  front  of  the 
Tenth  Regiment  and  was  called  Camp  Frieze. 

The  arrival  of  the  detachment  was  unexpected  and  no  provision 
had  been  made  for  the  men  by  the  quartermaster  and  commis 
sary  departments,  but  through  the  energy  and  obliging  disposi 
tion  of  Quartermaster  George  Lewis  Cooke  all  were  soon  made 
comfortable.  Colonel  Robbins  was  particularly  attentive  and 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  319 

furnished  the  men  with  cooked  rations  from  his  regimental  stores. 
Sunday  afternoon  was  occupied  in  pitching  tents  and  in  other 
camp  duties  ;  and  when  at  night  the  new  recruits  retired  to  their 
beds  of  straw,  under  canvas  roofs,  they  felt  that  they  had  begun 
a  soldier's  life. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  Captain  Gallup  arrived  in  camp  with  forty 
men,  followed  on  the  Qth  by  Lieut.  Henry  Pearce,  with  twenty- 
five  more  men,  which  brought  the  battery  up  to  the  required 
standard  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  ;  and  the  following  order  was 
issued  : 

HEADqUARTERS,    TENTH    R.    I.    VOLS., 

CAMP  NEAR  TENNALLYTOWN,  June  8,  1862. 
Special  Orders  No.  j. 

Two  commissioned  officers  and  fifty  privates  are  hereby  detailed  from  Light 
Battery  "  L,"  attached  to  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  from  Washington,  the  horses  and  equipments  belonging  to  the 
battery.  The  regimental  quartermaster  will  furnish  the  transportation  necessary. 

ZENAS  R.  BLISS, 

BENJAMIN  F.  THURSTON,  Colonel  Tenth  R.  7.  Vols. 

Adjutant. 

On  the  1 4th  of  June,  a  battery  of  six  twelve-pounder  guns 
(Napoleons),  were  received,  and  active  drilling  in  the  field  began. 
Each  of  the  three  branches  or  "arms"  of  the  military  service  had 
its  distinguishing  color;  blue  for  infantry,  yellow  for  cavalry,  and 
red  for  artillery.  The  body  of  the  uniform  worn  by  all  was  blue, 
-the  trousers  light,  and  the  blouse  dark  blue.  Artillerymen 
usually  wore  upon  the  front  of  their  caps,  a  brass  device  repre 
senting  two  cannon  crossed.  A  battery  usually  had  six  guns, 
was  complete  in  itself,  and  in  almost  all  cases  served  indepen- 


320  THE    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERY 

dently.  In  the  case  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Light  Battery,  by 
order,  it  was  numbered  as  Company  L,  Tenth  Rhode  Island 
Volunteers.  Each  piece  of  artillery,  and  each  caisson,  battery- 
wagon,  etc.,  was  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  with  numerous 
drivers,  one  of  whom  rode  the  "  nigh  "  animal  of  each  pair. 
The  officers  and  men  diligently  devoted  themselves  to  duty  and 
the  Tenth  Battery  was  soon  ready  for  active  service. 

On  the  230!  of  June,  the  battery  received  orders  to  move  to 
Cloud's  Mills,  Va.,  to  support  a  general  advance  of  troops  to  the 
Peninsula,  to  join  McClellan.  The  movement  was  made  in  a 
storm  of  rain,  the  battery  being  followed  by  a  train  of  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  army  wagons  loaded  with  tents  and  supplies.  As 
this  was  the  first  time  the  teams  had  been  harnessed  up,  there  was 
naturally  considerable  confusion  and  delay,  which  was  aggravated 
by  the  increasing  storm.  Quartermaster-Sergeant  Asa  Lyman  was 
hard  at  work  in  the  rear,  urging  the  line  forward,  with  words  of  di 
rection  and  encouragement.  The  battery  had  a  lot  of  spare  horses, 
which  were  ridden  by  men  specially  detailed  for  that  purpose. 
As  it  crossed  Long  Bridge  into  Virginia,  the  rain  and  darkness 
increased.  The  spare  horses  became  very  unmanageable,  as  the 
men  clambered  into  the  rear  of  the  army  wagons  for  shelter,  and 
still  attempted  to  hold  them  ;  but  with  the  sudden  flashes  of  light 
ning,  they  began  to  break  away,  and  disappear  in  the  darkness. 
Lyman  relates  an  amusing  episode  that  occurred  under  his  eye. 
"As  I  rode  up  from  the  rear,  completely  drenched,  a  vivid 
flash  of  lightning,  illuminating  earth  and  sky,  revealed  one  of  the 
battery  men,  on  a  rising  knoll  by  the  roadside,  struggling  with  two 
horses,  which  were  pulling  in  opposite  directions.  In  his  terror, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


21 


A  Dismal   Night. 


the  man  was  beseeching  the  Almighty  to  strike 
one  of  the  horses  dead,  and  relieve  him  of  the 
responsibility.  He  declared,  with  an  oath,  that 
he  couldn't  '  hould  '  but  one  baste,  any  longer." 
A  considerable  loss  of  horseflesh  occurred  on 
that  dismal  night — but  it  was  more  than  re 
placed  by  foraging — so  that  a  gain  of  one  was 
reported  at  camp  the  following  day. 

The  final  halt  was  made  at  Clouds's  Mills, 
near  the  camp  of  the  Sixty-ninth  New  York, 
and  the  hospitalities  extended  to  our  men  were  very  gratefully 
appreciated.  The  surgeon  of  that  regiment  drew  very  liberally  for 
us  from  his  hospital  stores.  It  was  real  Irish  hospitality  given  in 
full  measure  without  stint  or  formality.  The  camp  of  the  battery 
was  located  near  Seminary  Hill,  commanding  roads  leading  into 
Washington.  Near  by  were  the  Sixty-ninth  New  York,  the 
Thirty-second  Massachusetts,  and  part  of  the  Eleventh  and  Four 
teenth  United  States  Infantry,  and  three  batteries  of  light  artil 
lery.  The  brigade  was  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Bliss,  of 
the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  acting-brigadier-general. 

With  such  an  environment,  the  Tenth  Battery  soon  attained  a 
most  creditable  degree  of  efficiency.  An  officer  on  the  staff  of 
Gen.  Samuel  P.  Sturgis,  commanding  the  division,  paid  it  the 
compliment  of  saying  that  it  had  been  selected  by  the  General 
for  a  service,  in  which  its  efficiency  would  be  thoroughly  tested. 
The  test  of  battle  was  not  given  but  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the 
Tenth  Battery  was  ready  and  willing  to  obey  any  call  that  could 
be  made  upon  it.  Immediately  after  the  failure  of  the  Peninsula 

41 


THE    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERV 


Lieut.  Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr. 


campaign,  under  McClellan,  it  returned 
to  its  old  camp,  near  Fort  Pennsylvania, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers,  relieving  veteran  troops 
for  active  service.  During  the  absence 
of  Captain  Gallup,  who  was  detailed  on 
court  martial  duty  in  Washington,  Lieut. 
Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.,  commanded  the 
battery. 

Our  surgeon,  Edward  Carrington  Frank 
lin,  rendered  excellent  service  and  was  much  esteemed  by  officers 
and  men.  He  graduated  at  Trinity  College,  and  studied  medi 
cine  with  Dr.  A.  H.  Okie,  of  Providence,  and  later  at  the  New 
York  Medical  College. 

One  death  only  occurred,  during  our  term  of  service,  and  that 
by  accident.  Corp.  James  Flate  was  struck  by  the  pole  yoke  of 
a  limber,  during  an  exhibition  drill,  and  so  badly  injured  that  he 
died  in  four  hours.  He  enlisted  in  New  York  as  a  detachment 
was  passing  through  that  city.  He  was  faithful  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty,  and  by  his  social  qualities  gained  universal  favor. 

The  officers  and  men  of  the  battery  maintained  very  agreeable 
relations  with  their  brother  soldiers  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regi 
ments.  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss,  of  the  ''Tenth"  often  honored  the 
battery  with  a  visit,  and  was  always  warmly  welcomed.  These 
pleasant  relations  have  been  continued  and  kept  alive  by  annual 
reunions  of  the  survivors  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  and  Battery. 

During  its  term  of  service  it  acquired  a  proficiency  in  drill 
and  artillery  movements  that  excited  the  admiration  of  military 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  323 

visitants  from  Washington.  Though  it  did  not  receive  its  ''bap 
tism  of  fire  "  as  was  confidently  expected  when  it  was  ordered  to 
an  advanced  position,  the  battery  formed  an  important  arm  of 
the  defence  of  Washington  at  a  time  when  it  became  necessary 
to  withdraw  experienced  troops  from  the  fortifications  around  the 
city  to  reenforce  the  armies  in  the  field. 

At  the  close  of  its  term  of  service,  the  Battery  returned  home 
in  company  with  the  Tenth,  and  shared  the  welcome  which 
greeted  their  arrival.  It  was  mustered  out  of  service  August  30, 
1862.  Some  of  the  officers  and  men  again  volunteered,  and  made 
an  honorable  record. 

In  closing  this  brief  sketch  of  the  Tenth  Battery,  it  is  due  to 
the  men  who  originated  and  organized  the  Rhode  Island  National 
Guard,  in  1861,  to  say  that  the  promptness  with  which  the  men 
responded  to  this  sudden  call,  was  the  result  of  patient  and 
arduous  military  preparations  to  provide  for  just  such  emergencies 
as  occurred  in  May,  1862.  The  Rhode  Island  National  Guard 
maintained  the  efficiency  of  the  militia  companies,  and  enabled 
them  to  respond  promptly  in  the  time  of  need.  In  this  regard 
special  honor  is  due  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr.,  its  commander. 

LIEUT.   SAMUEL  A.  PEARCE,  JR., 

Tenth  R.  L  Battery. 


324  THE   TENTH   LIGHT   BATTERY 

THE  PROVIDENCE  MARINE  CORPS  OF  ARTILLERY. 


LIKUT.    SAMl'EL    A.    PEARCE,    JR. 


The  Providence  Marine  Corps  of  Artillery  was  the  mother  of 
ten  batteries  of  light  artillery,  and  the  officers  of  this  company 
assisted  in  the  recruiting  and  drilling  of  these  batteries  during 
the  War.  By  sending  recruits  to  fill  the  depleted  ranks  they  per 
formed  an  important  duty  ;  and,  it  may  be  timely  said,  that  the 
history  of  none  of  the  Rhode  Island  Light  Batteries  would  be 
complete  without  the  history  of  the  "  Providence  Marine  Corps 
of  Artillery." 

It  was  organized  in  the  year  1801,  and  is  therefore  one  of  the 
oldest  military  organizations  in  Rhode  Island,  and  was  the  first 
militia  light  battery  in  the  United  States.  It  bears  upon  its  roll 
of  membership  many  of  Rhode  Island's  distinguished  citizens. 
Several  of  its  former  officers  were  chiefs  of  artillery,  having  reg 
ular  army  officers  under  them.  Gov.  William  Sprague,  Governor 
of  Rhode  Island,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  was  a  former  com 
mandant  of  this  organization,  and  while  holding  his  position  as 
colonel  developed  the  soldierly  qualities  which  made  Rhode  Isl 
and's  Governor  conspicuous  for  his  promptness  in  sending  troops 
to  Washington  at  the  first  call  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

In  filling  Rhode  Island's  quota,  Governor  Sprague  conceived 
the  idea  of  putting  a  regiment  of  light  batteries  into  the  field. 
These  batteries  were  distributed  in  the  armies  of  Virginia  and 
the  Wrest,  and  made  a  'proud  record  for  themselves  and  in  the 
great  battles  of  the  war. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  325 

Well  may  the  old  "  Mother  of  Batteries  "  be  proud  of  her  chil 
dren  ;  and  long  may  her  name  be  perpetuated  by  preserving  the 
organization  under  its  present  charter. 

An  account  of  the  visit  of  the  "Marines"  to  Boston,  in  1852, 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Joseph  P.  Balch,  taken  from  a  Boston 
paper,  may  be  of  interest  to  the  younger  members  of  this  com 
pany,  and  will  show  to  some  extent  the  character  of  the  organi 
zation  in  which  the  war  batteries  were  schooled. 

"Boston,  Saturday,  September  18,  1852.  Grand  Review  of 
the  Marine  Artillery  of  Providence,  R.  L,  by  His  Excellency 
Governor  Boutwell  and  staff,  on  Boston  Common. 

"  Our  artist  has  given  us  below  a  very  correct  view  of  this  fine 
body  of  citizen  soldiers,  under  command  of  Colonel  Balch,  as  they 
appeared  on  Boston  Common  a  few  days  since  when  reviewed  by 
Governor  Boutwell  and  suite.  Did  our  space  permit  we  should 
be  pleased  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  review,  but  we  must 
be  concise.  The  artist  has  chosen  the  scene  to  depict  the  com 
pany  as  they  appeared  a  la  Sherman's  Flying  Artillery  at  full 
speed  passing  in  review.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  Providence  Corps, 
as  represented  below,  fired  one  hundred  guns  (notwithstanding  a 
rain  storm),  in  a  second  over  six  minutes  with  four  pieces,  while 
Sherman's  Battery  took  seven  minutes.  The  drill  and  discipline 
of  the  Marine  Artillery  was  most  excellent,  and  has  infused  a 
spirit  among  our  own  military  that  may  result  in  the  formation  of 
a  similar  corps  in  Boston. 

"The  company  was  instituted  and  organized  and  the  charter 
granted  by  the  legislature  of  Rhode  Island,  under  the  name  of  the 
Providence  Marine  Corps  of  Artillery,  in  the  year  1801.  Upon 


326  THE    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERY 

the  petition  of  the  '  Marine  Society,'  '  praying  for  an  act  of  incor 
poration  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  themselves  in  the  art  mili 
tary,  and  for  the  attack  and  defense  of  ships  and  batteries; '  and 
one  section  of  the  charter  provided  that  all  the  officers  of  the 
company  should  be  chosen  from  the  Marine  Society  ;  this  provi 
sion  has  been  modified  from  time  to  time  and  finally  annulled. 
At  the  present  time  no  connection  with  the  Marine  Society  exists. 

"  From  the  time  of  their  organization  until  the  close  of  the  war 
of  1812,  the  company  was  in  a  very  efficient  state  of  drill  and  dis 
cipline  ;  the  forts  and  preparations  for  the  defense  of  the  harbor 
of  Providence  during  the  war,  were  constructed  under  their  direc 
tion.  After  this  period,  the  interest  in  the  company  appeared  to 
decline.  New  members,  however,  were  admitted  and  the  annual 
election  held,  that  the  charter  might  not  be  forfeited. 

"  In  1842,  at  the  commencement  of  the  'Dorr  Rebellion'  a 
communication  was  addressed  by  the  Executive  to  the  several 
military  companies  of  the  State,  requesting  to  be  informed  if  in 
case  of  necessity,  he  could  depend  upon  their  services  to  aid  in 
the  preservation  of  law  and  order. 

"  Upon  laying  this  executive  communication  before  the  com 
pany  they  at  once  took  measures  to  render  themselves  efficient. 

"  Numerous  accessions  were  made  to  their  ranks,  and  during 
the  campaign  of  1842,  the  active  roll  of  the  company  numbered 
about  one  hundred  men.  During  this  season,  they  uniformed 
themselves,  and  the  next  year  assisted  by  the  State  erected  a 
commodious  stone  building,  which  is  occupied  jointly  with  the 
State  as  the  armory  of  the  company  and  the  State  Arsenal. 

"At  this  time  the  company  were  drilled  and  equipped  as  in- 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  327 

fantry.  In  1847-48  the  State  furnished  the  company  with  their 
present  battery  and  since  that  time  they  have  drilled  as  light  or 
flying  artillery." 


POEM. 

Dedicated  to  the  Tenth  Battery  Rhode  Island  Volunteers, 
before  leaving  their  camp  for  home.  By  Lieut.  Samuel  A. 
Pearce,  Jr.  : 

Amid  the  joys  that  fill  our  every  heart 

At  happy  greetings  from  the  loved  at  home, 
"T'is  joy  to  feel  that  as  true  friends  we  part, 

That  so  few  shadows  o'er  our  path  has  come. 

Days,  weeks,  and  months  we've  shared  each  others  lot, 

And  each  his  portion  of  the  burden  borne, 
And  pleasant  mem'ries  linger  round  the  spot, 

Where  rapidly  those  days  and  weeks  rolled  on. 

We  leave  this  spot, — but  not  without  a  sigh, 

For  here  we've  counted  many  a  happy  day, 
Yet  still  we  bid  the  moments  swiftly  fly 

And  hail  the  hour  which  sees  us  on  our  way. 

Safely  returned  we'll  count  our  hardships  sweet, 

And  looked  for  dangers  but  a  calm  repose, 
And  ever  as  such  friends  we'll  always  meet, 

And  thus  remain  until  our  lives  shall  close. 


Homeward    Bound. 


THE    END AT    LAST. 


FORT  HILL,  PAWTUXET  NECK,   R.  I., 
July  4,  1893. 

Comrades:  Just  a  year  ago  the  author  wrote  the  introduction 
to  this  volume.  To-day  marks  its  completion.  In  the  brief  space 
during  which  it  has  been  compiled  there  has  been  little  oppor 
tunity  for  elaboration.  It  has  been  prepared  one  form  of  sixteen 
pages  at  a  time,  and  an  edition  of  six  hundred  copies  printed. 

No  revision  of  the  completed  work  has  thus  been  possible, 
nor  any  opportunity  afforded  to  leave  out  some  irrelevant  matter  ; 
but  the  writer  has  had  the  advantage  of  letting  the  plan  of  the 
book,  so  far  as  there  is  any,  develop  itself  from  month  to  month. 
It  is  made  up  of  incidents  furnished  by  a  large  number  of  comrades, 
who  thus  join  the  writer  in  bearing  witness  to  the  faithfulness 


33O  THE    END AT    LAST. 

of  his  record.  From  collections  of  old  diaries,  old  letters,  old 
newspapers  and  orders,  he  has  had  to  puzzle  out  and  piece  to 
gether  his  material,  but  has  at  last,  got  together  the  needed  facts, 
so  far  as  it  is  now  possible  to  discover  them.  He  has  sought  by 
the  liberal  introduction  of  the  spice  of  army  life,  to  make  the  book 
entertaining,  especially  to  the  children  of  "  the  boys  who  marched 
in  '  Sixty-two.'  '  On  this  account  the  volume  has  far  outgrown 
his  original  purpose. 

He  gratefully  acknowledges  the  assistance  rendered  from  many 
sources,  and  the  manifestations  of  deep  interest,  as  the  work  has 
slowly  yet  surely  progressed  to  the  end.  Whatever  the  reception 
which  the  critic  of  to-day  may  give  to  this  book,  it  may  be  one 
of  that  class  which  Abraham  Lincoln  said  people  will  read  with 
satisfaction  two  hundred  years  hence,  if  fortunately  a  copy  should 
be  preserved  so  long  in  the  Public  Library. 

It  closes  with  brief  sketches  of  the  reunions  of  the  Ninth  and 
Tenth  Rhode  Island  Veteran  Associations,  and  a  corrected  roster 
of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments,  and  Tenth  Battery  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers. 

If  by  the  perusal  of  these  pages  the  comrades  shall  experience 
any  added  satisfaction  for  duty  well  performed  in  scenes  of  trial 
and  danger,  if  in  coming  years  it  shall  delight  the  hearts  of  their 
children,  and  children's  children,  to  read  the  story  of  the  eventful 
days  when  they  put  on  uniform  and  hurried  to  the  defence  of  the 
capital, — above  all,  if  any  impetus  shall  thus  be  given  to  the 
sacred  cause  of  loyalty  to  our  reunited  country,  then  the  desire 
of  the  writer  will  be  abundantly  satisfied. 

WILLIAM  ARNOLD  SPICER, 

Company  B,  Tenth  R.  I.   Vols, 


REUNIONS. 


THE   NINTH   R.   I.   VETERAN   ASSOCIATION, 


NEARLY  every  year  since  the  close  of  the  War  some  of  our 
comrades  have    held  reunions  to   renew  the  old    friend 
ships  of  "Sixty-two." 
The  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Veteran  Asso 
ciation   was  organized    in    1873,   and    has 
held  twenty   annual    reunions   up    to   the 
present    time.      The    Association    badge 
was  adopted  in  1875. 

One  of  the  most  enjoyable  gatherings 
was  that  at  Silver  Spring,  on  Septem 
ber  2,  1890,  the  twenty-eighth  anniversary 
of  the  muster-out  day.  The  following  re 
port  has  been  preserved  : 

"  Col.  J.  Talbot  Pitman  was  reflected 
president,  and  Hon.  Harrison  H.  Richard 
son,  of  Nayatt,  sergeant  of  Company  H, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  After  the  routine 
business  was  completed,  the  secretary,  BADGE. 

in  behalf  of  members  of  the  Association,     Ninth  "•'•**«"  Association. 
presented  to  Colonel  Pitman  a  gold  badge,  appropriately  inscribed, 
embodying   the   State   coat-of-arms,    and  military   emblems,   sug- 


332  THE    NINTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

gestive  of  the  recipient's  rank  in  the  service.  In  presenting  the 
badge,  Sergeant  Richardson  said  : 

"Mr.  President :  A  few  days  ago  I  submitted  for  your  approval 
the  'notice,'  since  issued,  for  this  reunion,  and  possibly  you  may 
remember  asking  me  '  what  other  important  business  besides  the 
election  of  officers  was  therein  referred  to.'  Perhaps  my  answer 
was  hardly  satisfactory,  for  I  tried  to  evade  the  question. 

"  In  truth,  sir,  I  had  been  drawn  into  a  conspiracy.  A  plot  had 
been  devised  which  would  fail  of  success  if  you  should  get  knowl 
edge  of  it  before  we  were  ready  to  spring  the  mine. 

"  For  some  time  past,  members  have  felt  that  there  was  due  to 
you  from  them  some  recognition  of  your  untiring  efforts  to  pro 
mote  the  success  of  this  Association  and  to  keep  alive  the  spirit 
of  comradeship  among  those  who,  twenty-eight  years  ago,  shared 
with  you  the  honors,  as  well  as  the  toils  and  dangers  of  our  hun 
dred  days'  watch  and  ward  over  the  city  of  Washington. 

"Now,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  as  we  recall  the  events  of 
'  Sixty-two,'  we  can  better  understand  the  responsibility  then 
weighing  upon  you  as  colonel,  commanding  the  regiment,  and 
there  has  come  to  us  some  appreciation  of  your  patience  with  our 
imperfect,  and  sometimes  none  too  earnest  efforts  to  conform  to 
military  rule  and  discipline. 

"We  can  now  even  remember  with  complacency  that  too  pre 
vious  fife  and  drum,  which  were  wont  to  make  such  sad  havoc 
with  our  early  morning  dreams.  For  surely  the  dulcet  strains  of 
the  'Reveille'  were  to  be  preferred  to  the  clamor  of  the  'Long 
Roll,'  which,  at  some  midnight  hour,  we  might  have  heard  in  our 
camp,  if  through  our  lack  of  vigilance  the  enemy  had  found  an 
unguarded  opening  through  our  lines. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  333 

"  So  too,  those  daily  drills,  by  squad,  by  company,  and  by 
battalion,  sometimes  irksome,  especially  to  our  cherished  'whangs  ' 
(army  shoes),  yet  who  shall  say  how  much  they  may  have  had  to 
do  with  our  immunity  from  attack  ? 

''These  thoughts  tend  to  impress  upon  us  the  sense  of  obliga 
tion  to  you  sir,  inasmuch  as,  in  those  days  of  our  country's  trials, 
your  zeal  in  her  service  never  abated,  your  vigilance  never  re 
laxed  ;  and  although  ours  was  a  bloodless  campaign,  yet  to  the 
Ninth  Regiment  belongs  the  honor  of  having  faithfully  performed 
all  duties  imposed  upon  it,  and  we  can  take  pride  in  sharing  that 
honor  with  our  commander. 

"  Mr.  President :  Probably  knowing  how  inadequate  my  words 
would  be,  to  fittingly  express  their  feelings  towards  you,  the  com 
rades  have  placed  in  my  hands  as  a  tangible  testimonial  of  their 
regard,  this  badge,  which  in  their  behalf,  I  now  present  for  your 
acceptance,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  found  worthy  to  be  worn 
by  you  upon  all  suitable  occasions,  in  remembrance  of  the  cam 
paign  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  in  1862,  for  the  defence  of  the 
national  capital." 

Colonel  Pitman  responded  with  fitting  acknowledgments,  but 
was  so  completely  taken  by  surprise,  as  to  find  it  impossible  at 
the  moment  to  find  words  to  suitably  express  his  feelings.  He 
fully  appreciated  the  gift,  and  was  very  proud  of  the  honor  con 
ferred  upon  him  by  his  comrades  of  the  Ninth  Rhode  Island  Vet 
eran  Association. 

Sergt.  Harrison  H.  Richardson,  of  Company  H,  has  filled  the 
position  of  secretary  and  treasurer,  with  untiring  zeal  and  fidelity 
since  the  organization  in  1873. 


334 


THE    NINTH    RHODE    ISLAND 


The  officers  of  the   Ninth  Rhode  Island  Veteran  Association 
have  been  as  follows  : 

Presidents. 
Col.  JOHN  TALBOT  PITMAN,  Lt.-Col.  JOHN   HARE  POWEL. 

Vice-Presidents. 


Lt.-Col.  JOHN  HARE  POWEL, 

Capt.  HENRY  C.  CARD, 
"      HENRY  F.  JENKS, 

Lieut.  JOHN  POLLARD, 
"      J.  CLARKE  BARBER, 
"      RICHARD  W.  HOWARD, 
"      GEORGE  H.  BURNHAM, 

Adjt.  HENRY  C.  BROWN, 

Sergt.  ROBERT  S.  BLAIR, 
"      JAMES  B.  STREETER, 

Corp.  EDWARD  P.  LOWDEN, 
"      SANFORD  A.  ROBBINS. 

Priv.  DARIUS  COOK, 
"     JOHN  S.   DAVIS, 
"     GEORGE  CARMICHAEL,  JR., 
"     JOSEPH  BIGELOW, 
"     ANDREW  CRUMLEY, 
"     HENRY  C.  SAYLES, 
"     CHARLES  F.  PIERCE, 
"     STEPHEN  A.  PECK, 
"     ORLAND  FREEBORN, 


Capt.  ROBERT  McCLOY, 
"     JOHN  A.  BROWN, 

Lieut.  FRANCELLO  G.  JILLSON, 
"      NATHAN  D.  BENTON, 
"      WILLIAM  MCCREADY, 

H.  J.  WHITAKER, 
"      WILLIAM  R.  LANDERS, 

Sergt.  ENDS  A.  CLARKE, 
"       JAMES  F.  MOWREY, 

Corp.  JEREMIAH  I.  GREENE, 
"  BENJAMIN  B.  MARTIN, 
"  HUGH  O'DONNELL, 

Priv.  EDMUND  BRAY, 
"     WILLIAM  MASSE Y, 
"     EDWARD  H.  BURDICK, 
"     JOHN  McDEviTT, 
"     WILLIAM  J.  MILAN, 
"     LUKE  A.  WOOD, 
"     FRANK  D.  FISKE, 
"     HENRY  A.  Bo  WEN, 
"     JOHN  H.  STACY. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  335 


THE     SOLDIER'S     WELCOME. 


BY    MARY   E.    KILBURN,    LONSDALE,    K.    I. 


WELCOME,  thrice  welcome,  soldier  friends, 

We  give  you  hearty  cheer, 
We've  watched  and  waited  for  this  hour 

With  mingled  hope  and  fear; 
We've  missed  you  in  our  hearts  and  homes, 

Friends,  brothers,  sons  and  sires, 
And  now  we  shout  that  "  Welcome  Home," 

Which  trust  and  love  inspires. 

We  lent  you  to  "  our  holy  cause," 

To  guard  the  nation's  dome, 
To  keep  the  rebel  hordes  at  bay, 

And  save  "  fair  freedom's  "  home  ; 
And  now  your  duty  nobly  done, 

We  grasp  with  honest  pride 
Your  sun-browned  hands,  that  tell  of  toil, 

Near  the  "  Potomac's  side." 

But  in  our  joy  we'll  humbly  raise 

Our  grateful  hearts  above, 
To  Him  whose  guardian  care  has  kept 

The  objects  of  our  love  ; 
In  sun,  and  in  light  and  shade, 

His  strong,  protecting  arm 
Has  been  outstretched  for  your  defence, 

To  shield  from  every  harm. 


336  THE    NINTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

And  while  with  happy  hearts  we  sing, 

Oh  let  us  not  forget 
The  sorrowing  and  the  suffering  ones, 

Whose  respite  is  not  yet: 
With  loving  hearts  and  ready  hands, 

To  cheer  and  to  relieve, 
We'll  stand  beside  the  soldier-boys, 

And  comfort  those  who  grieve. 

And  shall  we  not  stand  by  our  arms, 

And  heed  again  the  call : 
Shall  patriot  blood  forget  to  flow, 

And  patriots  fear  to  fall? 
Oh,  what  are  we,  if  land,  and  home, 

And  liberty,  and  law, 
Are  weighed  against  our  little  life! 

(Prepare,  then,  for  the  war). 

Our  country!   all  we  are  to-day, 

And  all  we  hope  to  be, 
We  gladly  on  thy  altar  lay, 

And  consecrate  to  thee : 
We  ask  not  wealth,  we  ask  not  fame, 

This  loan  thy  blessing  be, — 
United  States  may  we  remain, 

One  land,  one  hope,  one  destiny. 

Chorus  : 

Then  while  we  shout  a  welcome, 
We'll  sing  in  grateful  lays 

Of  His  kind  love  and  tenderness, 
Who  merits  all  our  praise. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  337 


THE     STARRY     STANDARD. 


BY  CAPT.  J.  McKiNLAY,  COMPANY  D, 
Written  for  a  Flag-raising. 


BEHOLD  your  starry  standard, 

Aloft  in  ambient  air! 
What  heart  so  cold  but  rapturous  throbs 

To  see  it  floating  there! 
Be  scorned  the  man  who  views  the  flag 

Of  Valley  Forge  renown, 
Who'd  not  resist  the  rebel  arm 

Upraised  to  tear  it  down. 

That  flag  : — beneath  those  streaming  stripes, 

Your  martyred  fathers  stood  : 
That  flag  they  raised  on  Bunker  Hill, 

And  baptized  with  their  blood  : 
We  fling  not  forth  defiantly, 

From  towering  spire  and  dome, 
But  rally  round  its  hallowed  shrine 

To  guard  fair  Freedom's  home. 

Why  are  these  starry  ensigns  raised 

To  flaunt  and  flutter  free, 
Till  towns  appear  like  pennoned  fleets, 

At  anchor  on  the  sea? 
They're  all  unfurled  to  indicate 

That  rebellion  we  detest, 
And  show  the  brave  and  loyal  heart 

Within  the  nation's  breast. 


4:; 


338  THE    NINTH    R.    I.    VETERAN    ASSOCIATION. 

We  court  not  war,  Avith  all  the  ills 

That  follow  in  its  train: 
But  order,  law,  and  government, 

We  surely  dare  maintain  ; 
When  mad,  rebellious,  wicked  men, 

Would  lawlessly  break  through 
The  glorious  Constitution 

Your  father  framed  for  you. 

Is  there  a  heart  with  not  enough 

Of  patriotic  fires, 
To  rally  to  the  rescue,  ere 

Loved  Freedom's  home  expires? 
Is  there  an  arm  so  enervate 

That  would  not  wield  a  blade, 
To  guard  the  Constitution 

Our  noble  fathers  made? 

Let  Warren's  gallant  spirit  now 

Inspire  each  sire  and  son  ; 
Of  every  creed  and  nation, 

Let  all  unite  in  one! 
Be  party  spleen  and  rancor  drowned, 

In  Union's  swelling  flood, 
To  save  the  glorious  heritage 

Bought  with  our  fathers'  blood. 

And  may  our  patriot  volunteers 

In  triumph  soon  be  seen, 
Returning  to  their  native  home 

Of  Perry  and  of  Greene  ! 
And  though  their  war-worn  features  be 

With  blood  and  smoke  begrimm'd 
May  their  flag  stream  forth  triumphantly 

With  all  the  stars  undimm'd. 


THE  TENTH   R.   I.  VETERAN   ASSOCIATION. 


T 


HE  first  reunion  of  the 
Tenth  Rhode  Island  Vet 
eran  Associationwas  held 
at  Silver  Spring,  R.  L,  July  24, 
1877.  Col.  James  Shaw,  Jr., 
was  chosen  president,  and  Adjt. 
John  F.  Tobey,  toastmaster. 

It  was  at  the  time  of  the 
labor  riots  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  Providence  Journal,  refer 
ring  to  the  Tenth  reunion,  said : 
"  These  are  good  times  for  vet 
erans  to  be  getting  together. 
Possibly  they  may  be  wanted 
again,  'armed  and  equipped.'  ' 

The  Association  Badge  was 
adopted  at  the  reunion  in  May, 
1887,  with  the  motto,  "  Volens  et 
paratns"  "ready  and  willing." 

Its  form,  a  spade,  is  suggestive  of  the  shoveling  done  by  the 
regiment  on  Battery  Vermont,  with  the  mercury  at  100°  in  the 
shade.  The  badge  also  bears  the  date  of  enlistment,  May,  1862, 
with  the  State  anchor  of  hope.  In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  is  an 
infantry  emblem,  crossed  muskets  on  a  field  of  blue,  and  in  the 


BADGE — Tenth    R.  I.  Veteran  Assoi 


340  THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

opposite  corner  an  artillery  emblem  with  crossed  cannon  on  a  field 
of  red.  The  badge  is  supported  by  a  gold  bar  with  a  military  cap 
in  the  centre,  marked  10,  R.  I.  Vols.  and  Battery,  the  whole 
resting  upon  a  ribbon  of  blue,  with  plain  bar  and  pin  at  the  top. 

At  the  first  reunion  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Veteran  Asso 
ciation,  His  Honor  Mayor  Thomas  A.  Doyle,  in  responding  to  a 
toast,  "The  City  of  Providence,"  said:  "The  city  is  proud  of 
this  regiment,  and  of  the  alacrity  with  which  it  responded  to  the 
call  of  duty.  We  should  keep  our  militia  organizations  strong." 

Lieut.  Samuel  A.  Pearce,  Jr.,  followed  with  an  original  poem, 
which  was  received  with  much  enthusiasm  : 

As  friends,  as  soldiers,  aye,  as  brothers  all, 

We  here  have  met  our  camp-life  to  recall : 

To  pledge  our  friendship  in  a  friendly  drink 

Of  something  mild,  would  surely  have  you  think; 

To  eat  our  rations  in  a  Christian  style. 

No  fierce  guerillas  to  molest  the  while, 

No  signal  lights  far  in  the  distance  seen, 

No  anxious  ivatchings  on  tlie  magazine. 

No  Stonewall  Jackson  coming  o'er  the  hills, 

No  "  grand  round"  escorts,  no  battalion  drills, 

No  balky  horses,  and  no  kicking  teams, 

No  bugle  calls  to  wake  us  from  our  dreams; 

But  here  we  are  with  hands  and  dishes  clean, 

Plenty  of  napkins,  — isn't  it  serene? 

Though  large  our  number  there's  an  absent  friend, 
Whose  genial  presence  doth  a  sunshine  lend: 
His  name — you've  guessed  it;   for  I  know  you  miss 
Our  friend,  companion,  brother: — Colonel  Bliss. 
Nine  cheers  for  Bliss:  —  come,  join  me  now, 
And  drink  the  Colonel's  health: — so,  here's  how! 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  34! 

On  June  28,  1877,  the  Tenth  regiment  took  part  in  the  recep 
tion  of  President  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  and  the  line  was  reviewed 
by  him  at  Rocky  Point,  the  Tenth  being  commanded  by  Capt. 
William  E.  Taber,  Jr.,  of  Company  A. 

The  second  reunion  was  held  in  Providence,  in  May,  1882,  and 
the  third  in  May,  1883,  when  Col.  Zenas  R.  Bliss  was  present, 
and  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  meeting  his  old  comrades.  He 
is  still  in  the  United  States  regular  service.  Hon.  William  A. 
James  (formerly  sergeant  of  Company  A),  speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  was  also  present. 

Since  1883  annual  reunions  have  been  held,  nearly  all  on  May 
26th,  the  anniversary  of  the  date  of  enlistment. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1887,  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Veteran 
Association,  William  A.  Spicer,  president,  participated  in  the 
ceremonies  incident  to  the  unveiling  of  the  Burnside  Equestrian 
Statue,  on  Exchange  Place,  Providence.  Soldiers  and  citizens, 
State  and  city,  joined  in  the  tribute.  The  Providence  Journal 
in  referring  to  the  presence  of  General  Sherman  said : 
"  Other  cities  had  interesting  features  in  their  celebration  of  the 
Fourth,  but  to  Providence  alone  was  reserved  the  best  of  all, 
William  Tecumseh  Sherman." 

At  the  reunion  of  May,  1888,  the  steel  howitzer,  captured  by 
the  Tenth  in  1862,  was  exhibited  on  the  platform.  It  has  since 
been  placed  with  other  memorials,  in  the  museum  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Historical  Society,  Providence. 

Quartermaster  James  H.  Armington  exhibited  a  sample  of  the 
"  hard-tack"  dealt  out  to  the  boys  in  1862.  He  said  according  to 
the  date  thereon  it  was  officially  inspected  in  1855. 


342  THE  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND 

The  officers  of  the  Tenth  Veteran  Association,  have  been  as 

follows  : 

Presidents. 

1877  to  1884.  COL.  JAMES  SHAW,  JR. 

1885.  CAPT.  AND  Ex-Gov.  ELISHA  DYER. 

1886.  CAPT.  WILLIAM  E.  TABER. 

1887.  SERGT.  PHILIP  B.  STIXESS. 

1888.  PRIV.  WILLIAM  A.  SPICER. 

1889.  SERGT.  HENRY  R.  BARKER. 

1890.  PRIV.  WILLIAM  A.  HARRIS. 

1891.  LIEUT.  LEANDER  C.  BELCHER. 

1892.  OUAR.-SERGT.  ASA  LYMAN. 

1893.  SERGT.  ALBERT  J.  MANCHESTER. 

1894.  CORP.  WILLIAM  A.  H.  GRANT. 

Vice-Presidents. 

CAPT.  WILLIAM  E.  TABER, 

SERGT.  WILLIAM  H.  H.  BRAYMAN, 

SERGT.  PHILIP  B.  STINESS, 

LIEUT.  CHARLES  F.  PHILLIPS  (president  pro  teni), 

SERGT.  WILLIAM  STONE, 

PRIV.  ROBERT  B.  HOLDEN, 

PRIV.  WILLIAM  A.  HARRIS, 

LIEUT.  LEANDER  C.  BELCHER, 

SERGT.  ALBERT  J.  MANCHESTER, 

CORP.  WILLIAM  A.  H.  GRANT, 

CAPT.  HOPKINS  B.  CADY, 

CAPT.  CHRISTOPHER  DUCKWORTH. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  343 

Members  who  have  served  on  the  Executive  Committee. 

COMPANY  A  —  Capt.  William  E.  Taber,  Lieut.  Leander  C. 
Belcher,  Priv.  Caleb  C.  Greene,  Jr.,  Corp.  Eugene  F.  Phillips, 
Corp.  Albert  C.  Winsor. 

COMPANY  B — Corp.  Nathan  H.  Baker,  Corp.  George  T.  Baker, 
Priv.  William  A.  Spicer,  Priv.  James  F.  Field. 

COMPANY  C — Priv.  George  W.  Lewis,  Corp.  Joseph  W.  Padel- 
ford,  Priv.  Elisha  W.  Sweet,  Priv.  Edmund  J.  Munroe. 

COMPANY  D — Corp.  William  H.  H.  Brayman,  Priv.  S.  Erastus 
Merchant,  Priv.  Levi  L.  Burclon. 

COMPANY  E — Lieut.  Stephen  H.  Thurber,  Sergt.  William  Stone, 
Corp.  Ira  R.  Wilbur,  Priv.  Christopher  A.  Cady. 

COMPANY  F — First  Sergt.  Joel  Metcalf. 

COMPANY  G — First  Sergt.  John  B.  Benson,  Sergt.  Albert  J. 
Manchester,  Musician  John  F.  Parks. 

COMPANY  H — First  Sergt.  George  A.  Winchester,  Sergt.  Charles 
P.  Gay. 

COMPANY  I — First  Sergt.  Henry  R.  Barker,  Corp.  Oliver  S. 
Alers,  Corp.  Moses  B.  Chace,  Corp.  B.  D.  Hale. 

COMPANY  K — Corp.  Joseph  E.  Handy,  First  Sergt.  Munson  H. 
Najac. 

COMPANY  L,  Battery—  Sergt.  Philip  B.  Stiness,  Priv.  A.  D. 
White,  Ouar.-Sergt.  Asa  Lyman,  First  Sergt.  Amasa  C.  Tourtellot. 

Staff. 

COM.-SERGT.  JAMES  O.  SWAN. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. 
CORP.  BENJAMIN  F.  PABODIE,      SERGT.  GEORGE  A.  WINCHESTER. 


344  THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

REUNION    POEMS. 


BY  MRS.  B.  F.  PABODIE, 
Wife  of  Corp.  Benjamin  F.  Pabodie,  Company  H. 


THE  cherry  snow  had  fallen,  in  the  beautiful  month  of  May, 

The  robins  sung  in  the  twilight, — on  the  purple  lilac  spray, 

The  grass  was  green  in  the  meadows,  in  the  freshening  springtime  life, 

And  we  followed  our  peaceful  duties,  nor  thought  of  the  distant  strife. 

When  early  one  sunny  morning  came  a  summons  to  our  ears, 

The  enemy  threatens  Washington,  and  we  need  more  volunteers!  " 

The  quick  response  from  patriot  hearts,  our  annals  past  will  show, 

Six  hundred  men,  in  scarce  ten  hours,  had  pledged  themselves  to  go. 

No  time  for  preparation,  scarce  time  to  say  farewell, 

One  night  at  home,  with  sorrowing  friends,  how  fast  the  teardrops  fell ; 

So  thirty  hours  from  the  summons,  all  ready  to  meet  the  foe, 

We  started  off  for  Washington,  just  twenty-six  years  ago. 

How  many  of  us  remember  the  beginning  of  that  campaign, 
How  we  stood  on  Exchange  Place,  hours  and  hours  in  the  midst  of  the  pour 
ing  rain. 

How  they  crowded  us  into  the  depot,  and  packed  us  into  the  cars, 
But  nought  could  dampen  the  courage  of  our  valiant  "  Sons  of  Mars." 
As  through  the  long,  long  night  we  sailed,  we  talked  of  days  to  come, 
And  jest  and  jokes  went  freely  round,  for  we  dared  not  think  of  home. 
What  lay  in  the  distant  future,  was  hidden  from  every  eye, 
Suppose  we  never  come  back!     What  then?     We  have  only  once  to  die. 
And  so  we  traveled  through  the  night  and  thro'  the  wearisome  day, 
With  welcomes  warm,  and  cheers  and  shouts  in  the  cities  along  our  way; 
Then  through  the  dust  and  mud  we  marched,  till  the  fourth  night  settled  down, 
As  we  built  our  fires,  and  pitched  our  tents,  on  the  hills  near  Tennallytown. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  345 

Then  came  the  drill,  and  picket-guard,  and  the  morning  bugle  call. 

O,  that  getting  up  so  early,  'twas  the  hardest  trial  of  all ! 

Yet  prompt  to  call  we  worked  and  drilled,  and  at  night  we  took  our  ease, 

As  we  gathered  round  the  evening  fires,  that  lighted  up  old  Camp  Frieze. 

At  length  we  were  ordered  to  Fairfax,  how  gladly  we  hurried  away, 

On  that  long,  hot  march  to  Seminary  Hill,  for  only  three  days'  stay, 

Not  one  of  us  wants  to  revisit  that  barren  desert  again, 

Where  the  grasshoppers  carried  their  rations,  when  they  marched  across  the 

plain. 

We  hoped  to  have  reached  the  battlefield,  for  courage  there  was  no  lack, 
But  a  soldier's  duty  is  "  to  obey,"  and  the  Tenth  was  ordered  back. 
Tis  hard  no  battles  to  recount,  no  skirmishes  to  relate, 
But  yet  we  know  "  they  also  serve,  who  only  stand  and  wait." 
So  the  old  and  veteran  soldiers  went  forward  to  meet  the  foe, 
While  we  guarded  the  forts  around  Washington,  just  twenty-six  years  ago. 

More  work,  more  drill,  more  "  mounting  guard,"  'twas  tiresome  day  by  day, 

But  looking  back,  thro'  the  mist  of  years,  it  seems  like  nothing  but  play. 

'Twas  not  for  our  pastime  we  tarried  there,  we  felt  whatever  might  come, 

We  were  simply  doing  our  duty  for  our  country  and  our  home. 

Our  patriotism  no  time  can  dull,  nor  trials  make  us  forget; 

Should  the  nation  need  us  again,  they'd  find  life  in  the  old  Tenth  yet. 

Alas!  my  brothers,  those  hours  have  flown,  and  the  years  have  hurried  past, 

And  sorrows  many  have  sapped  the  strength  which  we  thought  would  always 

last. 

Our  youth  departed,  our  manhood  fled,  old  age  comes  swiftly  and  sure, 
There  is  little  left  for  some  of  us,  but  patiently  to  endure. 
The  deeds  we've  done  are   not  perhaps   wrhat  we  planned   in  our  youthful 

dreams, 
Is   life  worth   living,"  we  sometimes  ask,   as  we  mourn   o'er  our  shattered 

schemes. 

Still  one  oasis  in  this  bleak  desert  this  festival  night  will  show, 
When  we  meet  to  talk  of  the  pleasant  times  of  twenty-six  years  ago. 
44 


THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 


OLD    ARMY    DAYS. 


BY  PROF.  W.  WHITMAN  BAILEY. 
Corporal  Company  D. 

DEAR  fellow  vets, 

In  such  familiar  phrase, 

I  now  address  my  comrades  of  old  days; 

Yet  as  I  think  by  no  especial  right, 

I  come  before  you  on  this  festal  night; 

For,  if  you'll  pardon  what  is  scarcely  meant, 

A  pun,  I  served  my  country  by  in-tent: 

Still  I  remember  in  a  mighty  shower 

Being  "  turned  out  "  at  some  ungodly  hour, 

To  walk  before  the  Colonel's  tent,  and  keep 

The  rebels  silent  while  he  went  to  sleep ; 

I  often  wonder  as  I  think  of  this, 

Whether  our  brave  commander  slept  in  Bliss, 

For  though  a  high  wind  blew  with  tempest's  rack 

And  streams  of  water  flowed  adovvn  my  back 

I  guarded  him  so  well  that  my  relief 

Forgot  me  for  a  while,  much  to  my  grief; 

Perhaps  to  theirs:  I  will  not  here  inquire 

Lest  I  should  stir  some  long-forgotten  fire: 

Speaking  of  fires,  what  a  jolly  thing 

Those  camp-fires  were  when  Burden  used  to  sing: 

Do  the  young  soldiers  of  the  present  day 

See  Nelly  home  "  in  that  familiar  way? 

Or  if  they're  modern  "  Titia's,"  are  they  still 

Charmed  by  the  glittering  sword  of  Bunker  Hill? 

In  nightly  visions  of  a  certain  sort 

I  often  find  myself  at  this  old  sport, 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  347 

And  if  a  corporal  called  "  attention  "  then, 

I'd  come  bolt  upright  as  I  used  to  when 

He'd  turn  us  out  at  early  reveille, 

And  talk  quite  loudly  of  our  corps  d'esprit ; 

Still  plainer  yet  the  captain's  voice  I  hear, 

Loud  calling  for  some  lusty  volunteer, 

To  right  his  tent,  or  chop  the  wood,  or  go 

To  hunt  up  "  System,"  in  the  realms  below  ; 

De  mortuis  nisi  bonnm  hope  I  may, 

And  so  about  our  grub  I'll  nothing  say  ; 

Except  that  hard-tack,  when  it's  marked  B.  C., 

Is  even  now  avoided  still  by  me 

As  is  that  meat  denominated  junk, 

And  flung  in  hogsheads  by  the  salted  chunk  ; 

Do  I  remember  Fairfax  and  the  clay, 

In  which  we  tried  to  drive  our  pegs  one  day  ? 

Do  I  recall  the  march  by  night  to  town, 

How  cold  we  were,  and  how  we  washed  it  down 

By  something  fluid,  I  will  not  say  what, 

Administered  by  the  Colonel  from  a  pot; 

On  that  same  night,  or  else  I  am  a  slave, 

I  stretched  my  full  length  on  a  barrel  stave ; 

I  wondered  then,  and  even  now  can't  see, 

How  I  disposed  of  all  my  vertebra; ; 

My  lucky  comrades,  made  of  sterner  stuff", 

Had  fire,  they  said,  and  pies  and  food  enough  ; 

But  now  I'll  order  arms,  and  break  my  ranks, 

To  all  my  comrades  I  return  my  thanks ; 

I  hope  they'll  pardon,  if  they  don't  agree 

With  a  poor  private  once  of  Company  D ! 

This  brilliant  effusion  was  followed  by  the  ever  popular  song  of 
Seeing  Nelly  Home,"  by  Burdon,  of  Company  D. 


34-8  THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

Poem  for  the  reunion  of  the  Tenth  Veteran  Association,  May 
26,  1882. 

BY  SERGT.  A.  T.  STARKEV,  COMPANY  D. 

GLAD  welcome  to-night  to  the  comrades  assembled, 

Glad  remembrance  of  those  who  in  young  manhood's  strength, 
Raised  aloft  their  right  hands  as  their  country's  defenders, 

And  enlisted  their  names  in  the  Rhode  Island  "Tenth." 
Long  years  have  passed  by  since  we  left  our  loved  firesides. 

At  fair  Liberty's  summons — her  cause  to  defend ; 
The  friendships  we  formed  in  the  days  of  our  service 

Were  friendships  for  life,  that  shall  never  know  end. 
It  was  not  given  us  on  fair  Liberty's  altar 

To  lay  down  our  lives,  as  our  brothers  had  done: 
Had  our  country  demanded, — not  a  soul  would  have  faltered, 

Such  was  the  spirit  sublime,  our  comrades  among. 
How  well  I  recall  the  events  of  the  journey, 

The  question  our  colonel,  so  gallant  and  true, 
Asked  De  Wolf,  who  by  looks  was  all  of  us  junior. 
"  My  son,  you  look  youthful :   how  old.  boy,  are  you?  " 
"  Twenty-four,"  says  De  Wolf.     "  O,  ho!  "  savs  the  colonel, 
"  You'll  do,  my  brave  boy,  put  your  name  on  the  books  : 
I'll  enter  an  item  right  here  in  my  journal, 

You  can't  ahvays  tell  a  man's  age  by  his  looks !  " 
In  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  behold  our  flirtations, 

The  meal  at  "  the  Cooper  Shop,"  ample  and  good : 
The  last  ere  we  entered  on  Uncle  Sam's  rations 

And  gave  him  our  time  for  his  clothes  and  his  food. 
Then  the  night  march  in  Baltimore,  through  the  street  so  historic 

Where  the  first  brave  martyrs  to  Liberty  fell, — 
The  clank  of  our  bayonets  meeting  the  awnings, 

Our  fears  and  our  fancies  we  remember  full  well. 
Then  the  strange  disappearance  of  our  friends  in  the  darkness; 

As  to  right  and  to  left  they  mysteriously  fell 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  349 

Down  the  dark,  open  cellar-ways  left  all  unguarded, 

Till  we  all  met  at  the  station  our  adventures  to  tell. 
Oh,  the  first  meal  at  Washington,  so  rough  and  forbidding, 

With  great  chunks  of  meat,  all  gristle  and  fat; 
How  they  flew  through  the  air  in  that  dining-hall  dreary, 

Then  the  midnight  alarm, — do  you  e'er  think  of  that? 
Our  camp  at  Tennallytown,  and  the  daily  manoeuvres; 

The  return  of  Mauran,  so  triumphal  and  grand, 
From  his  visit  at  home  for  his  teeth's  benefaction  ; 

His  queer  donkey-chariot  and  quaint  driving-man. 
Poor  darkness  "  was  arrested  for  quitting  his  station 

Before  the  white  tent  of  our  Colonel  so  true ; 
To  procure  for  himself  a  nice  cold,  creamy  "  ration," 

Which  he'd  waited  and  longed  for,  who  could  blame  him — could  you? 
The  march  over  the  river.     So  many  crossed  over 

Who  never  returned  to  glad  Liberty's  shore. 
Our  camp  at  old  Fairfax — the  return — and  the  journey 

To  the  Forts, — I've  dreamt  of  them  over  and  o'er. 
Then  our  pathways  divided,  and  each  of  our  hundreds 

Lived  a  separate  camp-life,  and  marched  various  ways ; 
At  the  fort  called  "  De  Russy,"  not  far  from  headquarters, 

Company  D  of  the  Tenth  whiled  awav  the  long  days ; 
On  the  silvery  banks  of  the  creek  near  our  camp-fires, 

With  the  cool  water  bathing  our  limbs  day  by  day ; 
In  the  blackberry  fields  just  over  the  river, 

We  reveled  at  will,  as  the  time  wore  away. 
Till  the  day  came  at  length  when  our  campaign  was  ended 

With  discharge  from  the  service  we  had  truly  enjoyed, 
Homeward  bound  every  comrade  now  joyfully  wended, 

To  greet  friends  and  loved  ones,  our  footsteps  employed. 
Twenty  years  of  success,  as  the  world  counts  success; 

Twenty  years  of  defeat,  as  the  world  counts  defeat, 
Have  gladdened  or  saddened  our  swift-passing  years, 

Since  the  days  when  as  comrades  we  each  other  did  greet. 


350  THE  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND 

Some  have  grown  great  in  the  eves  of  the  nation, 

Some  have  gone  down  in  the  race  after  wealth  ; 
Some  been  content  with  a  quiet  vocation, 

Others  been  hindered  by  the  loss  of  their  health. 
Till  time  with  its  hours  of  deep  sorrow  and  pleasure, 

Rolling  steadily  on  toward  eternity's  sea, 
Has  brought  us  at  length  to  this  festal  reunion  : 

And  welcome,  thrice  welcome,  the  absent  would  be. 
No,  all  are  not  here:   some  have  ended  life's  history, 

Crossed  o'er  the  dark  river  and  entered  Heaven's  gate, 
And  while  our  paths  widen  o'er  life's  fleeting  mystery, 

We  shall  all  at  one  portal  meet  early  or  late. 
Then  may  God  keep  us  all  through  the  rest  of  life's  marching! 

Mav  He  prosper  us  all,  give  to  one  and  all  strength  ; 
And  may  we,  dear  comrades,  in  all  of  our  journeyings 

Ne'er  forget  the  glad  days  of  "  the  glorious  old  Tenth !  " 


THE    TENTH    BOYS. 


POEM  BY  CORP.  W.  WHITMAN  BAILEY, 
Company  D,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 

I  KNOW  the  Tenth  boys,  I  am  not   mistaken, 

Though  heads  now  are  silvered,  once  auburn  or  brown 

Though  shoulders  are  bent  and  knees  may  be  shaken, 
Since  pitching  those  "  Sibleys  "  at  Ten-ally-town. 

'Tis  all  a  delusion  to  treat  them  as  older, 

Rheumatics?  bronchitis?  neuralgia?     What  then? 

They  march  as  they  once  did,  aye,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
And  "  get  there  "  precisely  like  average  men. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  35 

Their  notes  still  are  tuneful ;  just  list  to  the  singing, 

Is  Burden  less  musical  now,  than  of  yore? 
He'll  warble  of  "  Nelly,"  the  famed  "  Sword  of  Bunker," 

And  come  up  still  smiling,  to  meet  an  encore. 

Just  happen  to  mention  the  Tenth  has  no  glory, 

In  view  of  yon  howitzer,  desperately  won, 
Dispute  her  proud  title,  the  "  regiment  gory!  " 

And  seek  your  own  quarters,  for  quarters  we've  none. 

And  so  I  repeat  it  and  know  it  is  truthful, — 

These  comrades  around  me,  despite  what  they  say, 

Are  slender,  erect  and  perennially  youthful : 

Why  !  bless  me  !  They  mustered  this  very  same  May  ! 


THE    BOYS    OF   SIXTY-TWO. 


BY  SERGT.  T.  A.  STARKEY,  COMPANY  D. 


WRITTEN  FOR  THE  TENTH  REGIMENT  REUNION,  MAY  26,  1887. 


[AiR  :  "Auld  Lcnig  Syne"  "The  Sword  of  Bunker  HilL"] 


WE  gather  here,  this  festal  night, 

To  clasp  each  comrade's  hand, 
To  flash  the  beams  of  memory's  light 

On  days  dark  to  our  land  : 
To  greet  the  present, — mourn  the  lost, 

To  pledge  our  faith  anew 
To  the  cause  for  which  we  left  our  homes 

In  eighteen  sixty-two. 


,52  THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

Long  years  have  passed  since  first  we  rqet 

And  we've  grown  old  and  gray, 
And  widely  scattered  are  the  boys, 

And  some  have  passed  away. 
But  thro'  the  years,  where'er  we've  roamed 

Whatever  we've  found  to  do, 
We've  held  in  loving  memory  strong 

Those  hours  of  sixty-two. 

And  could  our  days  exceed  in  length 

The  prophet's  days  of  old, 
The  golden  tale  of  those  bright  days 

To  us  will  ne'er  grow  old. 
The  hours  we  passed  on  Southern  soil 

With  comrades  tried  and  true, 
Are  treasured  deep  within  the  hearts 

Of  the  boys  of  sixty-two. 

So,  comrades,  through  the  coming  years, 

While  life  and  strength  endure, 
We'll  gather  here  with  hearty  cheer 

And  friendship  strong  and  pure. 
And  on  each  glad  Memorial  Day, 

Our  comradeship  renew; 
That  comradeship  which  made  us  one 

In  eighteen  sixty-two. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  353 

A    CAMP-FIRE. 

BY  CORP.  W.  WHITMAN  BAILEY,  COMPANY  D. 

OUR  watchfire  burns, 

The  soldier  turns 
To  meet  the  friend  of  long  ago ; 

The  moments  fly, 

The  years  haste  by, 
But  dearer  doth  each  comrade  grow. 

We  con  once  more 

Our  marches  o'er, 
We  sing  the  songs  we  loved  of  old  : 

We  grasp  the  hand, 

Our  hearts  expand, 
And  closer  to  each  friend  we  hold. 

Can  we  forget? 

Ah  no  !  Not  yet ! 
Despite  our  heads  in  rebel  gray ; 

The  fact  is  true, 

We  wore  the  blue, 
And  started  hence  the  other  day. 

If  comrades  fell, 

To  them  "  farewell!  " 
And  o'er  them  votive  offerings  place; 

Recall  the  while 

Each  hero's  smile, 
And  cherish  his  familiar  face. 

Remember,  boys, 

Beside  the  joys, 
That  duty  calls  us  hence  once  more; 

Our  motto  scan  ! 

Let  every  man 
Be  "  ready,  willing,"  as  of  yore! 


354  THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 

LOYAL    EVER. 
BY  CORP.  W.  WHITMAN  BAILEY,  COMPANY  D. 


TENTH  REGIMENT  REUNION,  MAY  26,  1891 


BOYS,  though  our  hair  be  gray, 
Yet  shall  this  month  of  May, 
Ever  recall  the  day — 

Long,  long  ago, 
When  at  our  country's  call, 
Left  we  the  college  hall, 
Business  or  trade,  and  all 

Marched  on  the  foe. 

Nor  can  we  e'er  forget, 

How,  though  their  cheeks  were  wet, 

Maid,  wife,  or  mother  met — 

Sacred  each  name ! 
Though  we  might  ne'er  come  back, 
Better  the  battles'  wrack, 
Storm-blast  and  tempest's  track, 

Honor  than  shame  I 

So  then,  with  loyal  pride, 
Stood  we,  boys,  side  by  side, 
Comrades  all,  true  and  tried, 

So  still  we  stand, 
Gather  we  round  about, 
Fling  wide  "  old  glory  "  out, 
Hail  it  with  song  and  shout, 

God  bless  our  land  ! 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  355 


AFTER    DECORATION. 


BY  CORP.  W.  WHITMAN  BAILEY,  COMPANY  D. 

OUT  in  the  pitying  rain, 
Leave  we  our  dead  again, 
The  gallant  ranks  of  those 
Who  sleep  beneath  the  rose. 

Here  where  our  children  tread, 
Lie  the  heroic  dead, 
For  them  nor  shield  nor  name; 
Their's  is  their  country's  fame, 

Let  every  eye  behold 
Our  starry  banner's  fold. 
The  dead  did  dare  maintain, 
It's  glory  without  stain. 

All  that  they  had  they  gave — 
Their  victory,  the  grave, 
For  them  'tis  mete  to  bring, 
These  garlands  of  the  spring. 


356  THE  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND 

Our  national  poetry  and  song  have  been  the  offspring  of  mighty 
struggles  and  glorious  achievements.  These  stirring  melodies, 
every  line  bristling  with  patriotic  devotion  to  home  and  country 
did  much  in  preserving  our  National  Unity. 

In  September,  1862,  one  of  the  darkest  periods  of  the  war  for 
the  Union,  as  the  shadows  of  night  fell  upon  the  gory  field  of 
Antietam,  but  sixty  miles  away  from  our  old  camp  at  Fort  Penn 
sylvania,  a  sick  and  wounded  soldier  in  one  of  the  hospitals,  in 
a  clear  and  strong  voice,  sung  this  song  of  victory  at  midnight  : 

"  Our  flag  is  there  !     Our  flag  is  there  ! 

We  hail  it  with  three  loud  huzzas! 
Our  flag  is  there  !     Our  flag  is  there  ! 

Behold  the  glorious  '  Stripes  and  Stars  !  ' 
Brave  hearts  have  fought  for  that  bright  flag; 

Strong  hands  sustained  it,  mast-head  high, 
And,  O,  to  see  how  proud  it  waves, 

Bring  tears  of  joy  to  every  eye  !  " 

On  the  memorable  I4th  of  April,  1865,  Just  after  the  final  sur 
render  to  Grant  at  Appomattox,  and  the  fourth  anniversary  of  the 
fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  by  order  of  President  Lincoln,  the  same  old 
flag,  lowered  by  rebellious  hands  in  1861,  was  raised  again  over  the 
ruins  of  the  fort.  It  was  the  writer's  good  fortune  to  participate 
in  the  ceremonies  at  Fort  Sumter,  and  to  be  on  the  steamer  which 
carried  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee,  to  the  city  of  Charleston. 

Arrived  within  hailing  distance,  we  gave  each  ship,  gunboat, 
and  monitor,  the  good  news,  as  we  passed,  upon  which  a  scene  of 
of  the  wildest  enthusiasm  followed,  which  quickly  spread  through 
out  the  entire  blockading  squadron. 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  357 

The  sailor  boys  in  blue  crowded  to  the  bulwarks,  and,  mounting 
aloft,  manned  the  yards,  climbing  even  to  the  main-tops,  and, 
turning,  swung  their  caps,  and  rent  the  air  with  their  shouts. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  hurrah  !  Lee  has  surrendered  !  Lee  has 
surrendered  !  How  welcome  the  tidings  after  the  long  struggle  ! 
'  Sweet  after  danger's  the  close  of  the  war  ? ' ; 

On  the  morrow,  as  we  descended  to  the  interior  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter,  we  passed  from  the  wall-steps  to  the  platform  near  the  new 
flag-staff,  through  a  double  file  of  navy  boys  in  trimmest  holiday 
attire.  Here  was  assembled  the  great  audience  of  five  thousand 
soldiers,  sailors  and  citizens,  and  we  joined  them  in  the  stirring 
song  of  "Victory  at  Last,"  composed  for  the  great  occasion  : 

For  many  years  we've  waited  to  hail  the  day  of  peace, 
When  our  land  should  be  united,  and  war  and  strife  should  cease; 
And  now  that  day  approaches,  the  drums  are  beating  fast, 
And  all  the  boys  are  coming  home;  there's  victory  at  last! 

The  heroes  who  have  gained  it  and  lived  to  see  the  day, 
We  will  greet  with  flying  banners  and  honors  on  the  way; 
And  all  their  sad  privations  shall  to  the  winds  be  cast, 
For  all  the  boys  are  coming  home;  there's  victory  at  last! 

O  happy  wives  and  children  !  light  up  your  hearts  and  homes; 
For  see,  with  martial  music  "  the  conquering  hero  comes." 
With  flags  and  streamers  flying,  while  drums  are  beating  fast; 
For  all  the  boys  are  coming  home;  there's  victory  at  last! 

C  It  or  us  : 

There's  victory  at  last,  boys,  victory  at  last! 
O'er  land  and  sea,  our  flag  is  free,  we'll  nail  it  to  the  mast; 
Yes,  we'll  nail  it  to  the  mast,  boys,  nail  it  to  the  mast, 
For  there's  victory,  victory,  victory  at  last! 


358 


THE    TENTH    RHODE    ISLAND 


Gen.  Robert  Anderson,  the 
hero  of  Sumter,  then  stepped 
forward  and  said :  "  I  thank 
God  that  I  have  lived  to  see 
this  day,  and  after  four  long 
years  of  war  to  be  here  to  restore 
to  its  proper  place  this  clear 
flag,  which  floated  here  during 
the  days  of  peace.  My  heart  is 
filled  with  gratitude  to  God,  who 
has  so  signally  blessed  us,  who  has  given  us  blessings  beyond 
measure.  May  all  the  nations  bless  and  praise  the 

world    proclaim,    '  Glory 
on     earth 


Gen.   Robert  Anderson. 


name  of  the  Lord  and  all  the 
to  God  in    the  highest,   and    : 


peace,    good 


Tne  Rums  of  Fort  Sumter  in   1865. 

will  toward  men  ! '  :       "Amen  !    Amen  !  "  responded  the  vast  mul 
titude.     Then  the  old  veteran  firmly  grasped  the  halyards,  and 

"  Forthwith  from  the  glittering  staff  unfurled 
The  starry  banner,  which  full  high  advanced, 
Shone  like  a  meteor  streaming  to  the  wind." 


VETERAN    ASSOCIATION.  359 

Thirty  years  have  passed  since  that  eventful  day,  and  the  pre 
cious  remains  of  Robert  Anderson,  the  hero  of  Fort  Sumter, 
repose  in  the  National  Cemetery  at  West  Point,  but  his  noble 
character,  and  devoted  service  to  his  country,  can  never  be  for 
gotten. 

From  the  smoke  of  Sumter  day  quickly  arose  the  Sumter  Club, 
whose  anniversary  it  celebrates  with  "  feast  of  reason,  and  flow 
of  loyal  soul."  Among  its  treasures  is  the  Confederate  flag  of 
Fort  Moultrie,  but  nothing  is  so  highly  prized  by  the  writer  as 
the  following  note  from  the  widow  of  General  Anderson,  in 
acknowledgment  of  a  little  pamphlet  printed  by  the  writer,  en 
titled  "The  Flag  Replaced  on  Sumter"  : 

NEW  YORK  HOTEL,  N.  Y., 

December,  n,  1885. 
MR.  WILLIAM.  A.   SPICER,  Providence,  R.  I., 

Rhode  Island  Vice-President  Suinter  Club. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Accept  my  thanks  for  your  very  kind  letter  and  for  your  pam 
phlet  which  accompanied  it,  "The  Flag  Replaced  on  Sumter,"  both  of  which 
were  forwarded  to  me  from  Green  Cove  Springs. 

I  often  weep  bitter  tears  that  my  dear  husband  and  his  services  to  his  country 
at  the  moment  of  her  greatest  peril,  seem  so  clean  forgotten  throughout  the 
land;  but  now  and  then  I  am  cheered  by  kind  and  pleasant  words  like  yours, 
and  I  take  heart  again  and  my  faith  in  God's  promises  and  in  my  countrymen 
is  renewed  and  strengthened.  Be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  that  the  effort  of  one 
of  the  youngest  members  of  the  Sumter  Club  to  perpetuate  General  Anderson's 
"  worthy  name  and  fame  "  is  fully  appreciated  and  most  highly  prized  by  his 
widow  and  the  mother  of  his  children. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

E.  B.  ANDERSON. 


ROSTER. 


THE  NINTH  AND  TENTH  RHODE  ISLAND  REGIMENTS  AND  TENTH  RHODE 
ISLAND  BATTERY,  present  the  usual  entertaining  variety  in  their  ranks,  as  to 
age,  position,  and  occupation.  The  average  age  of  enlistment,  it  is  safe  to  say, 
was  under  twenty.  Many  of  the  recruits  gave  their  ages  more  than  they 
actuallv  were,  fearing  that  they  would  be  rejected  were  the  correct  ages  known. 
The  author  knows  personally  of  several  of  his  comrades  who  reported  as 
eighteen  who  were  barely  sixteen.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to  make  the 
"  Roster"  as  correct  as  possible. 


ROSTER 


Ninth   Rhode  Island  Volunteers 


KIKLD    AND   STARK. 


Colonel. 
JOHN  TALBOT  PITMAN. 

Captain,  First  Rhode  Island  Detached  Militia,  May  6,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  Aug.  2,  1861  ;  major,  Ninth  Rhode  Island  In 
fantry,  May  26,  1862;  lieutenant-colonel,  June  9,  1862; 
colonel,  July  3,  1862  ;  mustered  out,  Sept.  2,  1862;  lieuten 
ant-colonel,  Eleventh  Rhode  Island  Infantry,  Oct.  i,  1862; 
mustered  out,  July  13,  1863. 

L  i cute  nan  t-  Colonels. 
JOHN  T.   PITMAN.     (See  Colonel.) 

JOHN  HARE  POWEL. 

May  26,  1862,  mustered  in  ;  originally  served  as  captain  Co.  L; 
June  9,  1862,  promoted  to  major;  July  3,  1862,  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel;  Sept.  2,  1862,  mustered  out. 


302  ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 

Majors. 

JOHX  T.   PITMAN.     (See  Colonel.} 

JOHN   HARE   POWEL.      (See  Lieutenant-Colonel.} 

GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE. 

Originally  served  as  first  lieutenant,  Co.  L;  detached  as  regi 
mental  quartermaster;  July  3,  1862,  commissioned  and  mus 
tered  in  as  major;  Sept.  2,  1862,  mustered  out. 

Surgeon. 
LLOYD  MORTON. 

Assistant  Surgeon. 
HENRY  KING. 

CJ lap  lain. 
N.  W.  TAYLOR  ROOT. 

Adjutant. 
HEXRY  C.  BROWN. 

Originally  served  as  second  lieutenant,  Co.  A  ;  June  2,  1862,  pro 
moted  adjutant. 

Quartermasters. 
GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE.     (See  Majors.) 

WILLIAM  MCCREADY,  JR. 
Regimental  quartermaster  from  May  26  to  July  3,  1862. 

Sergeant-Major. 
ROBERT  FESSENDEN. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  363 

Quartermaster- Sergeant. 
ALFRED  O.  TILDEN. 

Hospital  Steward. 
HENRY  E.  TYLER. 

Commissary  Sergeant. 
HORACE  G.   MILLER. 

Served  as  sergeant,  Co.  H  ;  June  9,  1862,  appointed  commissary 
sergeant. 


COMPANY   A. 


Captain. 

ROBERT  McCLOY. 

First  Lieutenant. 
ALBERT  W.  TOMPKINS. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
HENRY  C.   BROWN. 
June  2,  1862,  appointed  adjutant. 

Sergeants, 

Oliver  H.  Perry,  John  R.  Anderson, 

Arnold  F.  Salisbury,  Joseph  P.  Farnsworth, 

George  Morris,  Charles  C.  Crocker. 


364 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


Frederick  Schneider, 
Thomas  H.  Holmes, 
Daniel  H.  Johnson, 
John  McKelvey, 
William  H.  Chace, 

William  Bartlett, 
Samuel  A.  Bennett, 
Zephaniah  Bennett, 
Jubal  Blount, 
Edmund  Bray, 
fCharles  E.  Buffurn, 
George  N.  Burlingame, 
George  Burns, 
William  A.  Carter, 
Henry  H.  Clark, 
Joseph  H.  Clark, 
Darius  Cook, 
Patrick  Coyle, 
Israel  F.  Crocker, 
Alonzo  Crowell, 
John  Cullen, 
Joseph  D.  Davenport, 
John  S.  Davis, 
John  T.  Fanning, 
Ferdinand  A.  Follett, 
Thomas  Forrest, 
Albert  Fuller, 
Ferdinand  A.  Gardner, 
John  Glancy, 

t  Minor; 


Corporals. 

George  Schneider, 
Alfred  Jerauld,  Jr., 
Henry  M.  Stetson, 
Simeon  B.  Ramsbottom. 

Privates. 

Michael  Goodwin, 
Stephen  A.  Grover, 
Thomas  Hallowell, 
Henry  L.  Hammond, 
William  Hay, 
John  Hay  ward, 
Thomas  H.  Holmes, 
Daniel  A.  Hopkins, 
William  J.  Hughes, 
James  A,  Kelley, 
William  H.  Kelley, 
Thomas  J.  Kennedy, 
Henry  Kimpton, 
Edward  Knight, 
Augustus  A.  Leach, 
John  E.  Lee, 
Thomas  Locking, 
Thomas  Locklin, 
John  T.  Lowden, 
John  H.  Lundy, 
Peter  Lyme, 
Aldine  Manier, 
William  Massey, 
Charles  H.  Mathewson, 

discharged,  July,  1862. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


John  McCabe, 
Peter  McCabe, 
Patrick  McCusker, 
John  McGinn ity, 
David  McKelvey, 
Daniel  B.  McKenna, 
Amaziah  B.  Merchant, 
Peter  Merchant, 
Hugh  Muldoon, 
George  W.  Newell, 
Thomas  Norris, 
William  O'Donnell, 
John  Ramsbottom, 
Patrick  Ready, 
James  Riley, 
George  A.  Roberts, 
Richard  Roberts, 
A.  Sylvester  Rounds, 


Alonzo  F.  Salisbury, 
Thomas  Sawyer, 
George  B.  Sharpies, 
James  R.  Sherman, 
Edward  Shuttleworth, 
Lewis  F.  Slocum, 
William  H.  Slocum, 
Patrick  Starrs, 
William  Stewart, 
Ansel  L.  Sweet, 
Charles  I.  Sweet, 
Roger  Tattersall, 
Oscar  Thayer, 
John  Trainor, 
Nathaniel  Walker, 
Thomas  Wheeler, 
James  A.  Williams. 
Sylvanus  C.  Wilson. 


COMPANY   B. 


Captain. 
HENRY  C.  CARD. 

Fit 'st  L  icu tenan t. 
].  CLARKE  BARBER. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
JAMES  MCDONALD. 


366 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


William  R.  Lewis, 
Thomas  Place, 
James  H.  Perrigo, 

John  Tweedie, 
Nathan  J.  Crandall, 
Edwin  R.  Cottrell, 
Peleg  D.  Sisson, 

Pardon  Babcock, 


Andrew  J.  Allen, 
Joshua  Allen, 
William  D.  Babcock, 
John  W.  Barber, 
T.  Stanton  Barbour, 
Uriah  Baton, 
George  Bellamy, 
Andrew  Bray, 
Edward  C.  Brown, 
E.  James  Buddington, 
Thomas  A.  Buell, 
Edward  H.  Burdick, 
Thomas  T.  Burdick, 
William  H.  Burdick, 
George  Carmichael, 
Thomas  H.  Champlain, 
Stephen  Coleman, 
William  T.  Collins, 


Sergeants. 

James  M.  Holmes, 
Amos  L.  Burdick. 

Corporals. 

Joseph  Richmond, 
James  A.  Sisson, 
William  F.  Hawkins. 

Musicians. 

Daniel  B.  Jackson. 

Privates. 

James  A.  Congdon, 
John  P.  Crandall, 
Edward  G.  Crandall, 
William  Davenport, 
Daniel  Donovan, 
John  Ecclestone, 
James  A.  Edwards, 
Charles  H.  Eldred, 
Charles  H.  Gavitt, 
Horace  P.  Gavitt, 
Dean  Gould, 
Courtland  T.  Hall, 
Joseph  Haywood, 
William  Horsfall, 
Daniel  B.  Jackson, 
William  Jackson, 
James  Johnson, 
Milton  P.  Johnson, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  367 

T.  W.  Johnson,  Horace  L.  Peckham, 

William  Johnson,  Jr.,  James  M.  Pendleton,  2cl, 

David  Kenneth,  George  A.  Richmond, 

Moses  D.  Kinkade,  Gilbert  S.  Roach, 

Edmund  R.  Langworthy,  Everett  A.  Schofield, 

George  E.  Leonard,  Nathan  S.  Sheffield, 

George  W.  Livsey,  John  Surber, 

John  McAvoy,  Francis  VV.  Taylor, 

Thomas  McLean,  Charles  W.  Thompson, 

James  McNulty,  John  P.  Trant, 

J.  Howard  Morgan,  James  L.  Ward, 

Nathan  E.  Nash,  Richard  Welch, 

George  P.  Neugent,  John  B.  Wells, 

Isaac  Partelow,  William  H.  Wells. 


COMPANY  C. 


Captain. 
JOHN  A.  BOWEN. 

First  Lieutenant. 
GEORGE  A.  SPINK. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  H.   POTTER. 

Sergeants. 

John  C.  Potter,  Crawford  R.  Williams, 

William  C.  Nichols,  Allen  E.  Keech. 

Horace  Remington, 


;68 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


Nathan  B.  Whipple, 
Lewis  G.  Arnold,  Jr., 
John  Devlin, 
George  C.  Gilmore, 


George  R.  Tourjee, 


Corporals. 

John  Remington, 
Hugh  O'Donnell, 
Jonathan  R.  Weaver, 
*Hollis  Taber,  Jr. 

Musicians. 

Horace  H.  Woodmancy. 

Wagoner. 

Henry  H.  Roberts. 


Privates. 


Albert  Arnold, 
Edward  P.  Baker, 
William  H.  Baker, 
Nathaniel  G.  Ball, 
John  J.  Battey, 
Allen  H.  Bennett, 
Jesse  Bicknell, 
Joseph  Bigelow, 
Samuel  E.  Bowen, 
Peter  Brown, 
William  B.  Browning, 
Daniel  W.  Cady, 
Peter  Carroll, 
John  Carey, 
Joseph  P.  Cornell, 
George  W.  Davvley, 
William  H.  Dimond, 
James  F.  Fanning, 
Thomas  Farmer, 


Cornelius  Franklin, 
Charles  C.  Gardner, 
Peter  Goodness, 
William  Hunt, 
Thomas  Hughes, 
Zephaniah  Jenkins, 
John  D.  Jordan, 
Zebulon  Londeau, 
Thomas  Lindsay, 
James  Malaney, 
George  Matteson, 
John  Me  Arthur, 
James  McDonnell, 
Patrick  McMann, 
Joseph  Miller, 
Charles  Morris, 
Henry  Nichols, 
Michael  Noon, 
William  H.  Northup, 


Died  August  13,  1862,  in  hospital. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


369 


Felix  O'Donnell, 
Frederick  Owen, 
John  O.  Neill, 
William  O'Neil, 
Robert  Platt, 
Henry  Peagot, 
Charles  H.  Prew, 
Harrison  Provost, 
John  Quigley, 
Samuel  J.  Randall, 
Patrick  Reagan, 
Ambrose  P.  Rice, 
Henry  H.  Roberts, 
Lewis  Roberts, 


Elisha  Sherman, 
Elisha  O.  Sherman, 
Francis  Smith, 
Michael  Spellacy, 
George  A.  Spencer, 
Lewis  T.  Spencer, 
William  C.  Spencer, 
Edward  Tathroe, 
Joshua  W.  Tibbitts, 
William  H.  Tucker, 
Oliver  T.  Wilbur, 
John  Wilson, 
Alonzo  G.  Wood, 
Warren  Young. 


COMPANY  D. 


Captain. 
JOHN  McKiNLAY. 

First  Lieutenant. 
JOHN  POLLARD. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  MCCREADV,  JR. 

Sergeants. 

William  T.  Crawford, 


Thomas  McCarthy, 
Israel  Arnold,  Jr., 


Robert  S.  Blair, 
William  T.  Gildard 


370 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


John  McFadden, 
Joseph  R.  Stafford, 
Samuel  C.  Lomas, 
Horatio  Giles, 


Alfred  Hough, 

Uriah  M.  Adams, 
James  Aigan, 
Robert  Arnett, 
Noah  A.  Ashworth, 
Jonathan  M.  Bass, 
George  Birchell, 
Thomas  Boyd, 
James  Boyle, 
James  Brennan, 
Samuel  Briden, 
Alonzo  Colvin, 
Lyman  Colvin, 
William  H.  Cory, 
Andrew  Cramley, 
Thomas  Crumley, 
George  Davis, 
Daniel  Devlin, 
George  H.  De  Wolf, 
Peter  Dolan, 
Luke  Duxbury, 
David  Fogarty, 
Patrick  Freeman, 


Corporals. 

Thomas  Meagher, 
Ferdinand  Haskins, 
Christopher  T.  Geldard, 
John  Crumlay. 

Musicians. 

Charles  E.  Greene. 

Privates. 

Matthew  Green, 
William  Greenlese, 
David  Glover, 
Robert  Hall, 
Thomas  Hall, 
Alexander  Harkness, 
Michael  Hafferin, 
John  Hollingsworth, 
Daniel  Hoyle, 
James  Jackson, 
James  H.  Jolly, 
Walter  Loudergan, 
John  McCaffrey, 
Michael  McCormick, 
Neil  McCourt, 
John  McDevitt, 
Michael  McKern, 
Cornelius  Moninihan, 
Hugh  McMullen, 
fBenjamin  North, 
John  North, 
James  O'Brien, 


t  Discharged  for  disability  June  23,  1862. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  371 

Henry  O'Neil,  John  Schofield, 

James  Parker,  Almon  C.  Shorey, 

Thomas  S.  Parker,  James  Smith, 

James  Pollard,  Patrick  Smith, 

Thomas  Ouinin,  James  Stewart, 

William  Rankin,  Walter  S.  Sutcliffe, 

Orrin  G.  Rawson,  James  Wood, 

Alexander  Ritchie,  James  White, 

William  J.  Root,  Olney  Whipple. 

John  Ryan,  Richard  J.  Whittle. 


COMPANY  E. 


Captain. 

ISAAC  PLACE. 

First  Lieutenant. 
PHILIP  D.   HALL. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
NATHAN  D.  BENTON. 

Sergeants. 

Fenner  Colwell,  George  H.  Johnson, 

George  W.  Haradon,  Joseph  Miett,  Jr. 

Trowbridge  Smith, 

Corporals. 

Byron  S.  Thompson,  Martin  G.  Cushman, 

William  T.  Brooks,  Henry  E.  Baker, 


372 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


David  Dines, 
James  Jaques, 


Samuel  Preston, 
Gilbert  A.  Thompson. 


Musician. 

Albert  Beverly. 

Privates. 


Moses  A.  Aldrich, 
Cyrus  R.  Bennett, 
Henry  A.  Bennett, 
Jacob  Butterfield, 
George  W.  Buxton, 
Willard  D.  Colwell, 
Marcus  M.  Cooke, 
James  Demick, 
fEdmund  Esty, 
George  B.  Evans, 
William  H.  Fuller, 
John  Gallagher, 
Frederic  C.  Gove, 
Alexander  Henderson, 
Thomas  Hughes. 
Thomas  W.  Irons, 
George  H.  Johnson, 
Martin  G.  Lyons, 
Walter  Mather, 
William  J.  Milan, 


Thomas  Pryor, 
John  Regan, 
Robert  Sandford, 
Joseph  Sedgwick, 
Osborne  M.  Southwick, 
Enoch  Spencer, 
Thomas  B.  Spooner, 
Dustin  D.  Stevens, 
Augustus  R.  Steere, 
James  Sullivan, 
John  Sullivan, 
Winfield  S.  Thompson, 
Alexander  Tongue, 
Charles  F.  Tifft, 
Joseph  Wilmouth, 
George  Wilson, 
Thomas  D.  Wilson, 
Hiram  Wood, 
Joseph  M.  Young. 


t  Discharged  as  a  minor,  July  9,  1862. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


6/6 


COMPANY    F. 


Edward  F.  Steere, 
Benjamin  Hill, 
Moses  Brown, 


Captain. 
JOHN  M.  TAYLOR. 

First  L  ieu  ten  an  t. 
RANDALL  HOLDEN. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
RICHARD  VV.   HOWARD. 

Sergeants. 

Jeffrey  G.  Davis, 
Henry  P.  Babson, 
George  T.  Lamphear 


William  F.  Hill, 
James  R.  Read, 
S.  Wildes  Coggeshall, 
J.  Phillips  Pond, 
John  E.  Whipple, 

David  Spencer, 


William  Atchison, 
Henry  W.  Ballou, 
Charles  Ballou, 
Lillibridsre  Barber, 


Corporals. 

James  Bushee, 
Stephen  P.  Steere, 
George  T.  Lamphear, 
Delondo  Bennett. 

Musicians. 

Daniel  Baxter. 

Privates. 

Wilcox  Barber, 
Daniel  Barney, 
fStephen  L.  Barney, 
George  Blackington, 


f  Discharged  for  disability,  July,  1862. 


374 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


Daniel  Brayton, 
Thomas  Britton, 
George  Britton, 
Charles  Bowers, 
William  T.  Brown, 
John  Burns, 
Alfred  Crandall, 
Frank  P.  Chace, 
Oliver  H.  Clark, 
Charles  Colvin, 
George  R.  Congdon, 
Henry  N.  Cook, 
William  R.  Cornell, 
Benjamin  Cottrell, 
William  Davenport, 
Albert  Davis, 
Cortes  A.  Darling, 
Michael  Fleming, 
Samuel  K.  Gardiner, 
fRichard  Gibney, 
Samuel  Graves, 
Thomas  B.  Greene, 
Edward  Harvey, 
Sylvanus  C.  Holbrook,  Jr., 
Thomas  L.  Hopkins, 
Albert  F.  Howard, 
Alfred  A.  Jackson, 
Samuel  C.  Jenckes, 
Arnold  Jennerson, 
George  C.  Johnson, 
Thomas  Johnson, 


Jesse  D.  Keach, 
Edward  King, 
Hosier  Lock, 
Bernhard  Morris, 
George  A.  Nichols, 
John  Niles, 
Rufus  H.  Northup, 

fjohn  O'Brien, 
Thomas  Owen, 
H.  B.  Perry, 
B.  Ray  Phelon, 
Elisha  Place, 
William  Price, 
Henry  Price, 
G.  W.  Henry  Pollard, 
George  B.  Pollard, 
\Villiam  H.  Rice, 
Richard  R.  Richmond, 
Nelson  Searle, 
Simon  G.  Sherman, 
Thomas  Sipple, 
Otis  W.  Smith, 
Thomas  L.  Smith, 
Javis  Smith, 
George  Smith, 
James  E.  Spencer, 
George  W.  Spencer, 
John  T.  Spencer, 
Otis  Spencer, 
Edward  F.  Steere, 

fAlonzo  P.  Stone, 


f  Discharged  as  a  minor. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  375 

William  Taylor,  B.  Egbert  Vaughan, 

Henry  B.  Terry,  Jerome  Weaver, 

B.  Greene  Tew,  John  Westgate, 

Robert  W.  Townshend,  Edward  J.  Wilbur. 


COMPANY   G. 


Captain. 
CHARLES  L.  WATSON, 

First  Lieutenant. 
FRANCELLO  G.  JILLSON. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
HENRY  J.   WHITAKER. 

Sergeants. 

Austin  J.  Scott,  Enos  A.  Clarke, 

James  B.  Streeter,  Daniel  E.  Wilcox. 

William  T.  Smith, 

Corporals. 

Horace  A.  Scott,  George  H.  Baker, 

James  A.  Sweet,  Edwin  W.  Whipple, 

William  P.  Davis,  Sanford  A.  Robbins, 

A.  Sayles  Clarke,  George  W.  Thayer. 

Musician. 
William  M.  Goff. 


76 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


Privates. 


Jenckes  Bartlett, 
Allen  F.  Baxter, 
Alba  Bellows, 
Asa  Bennett, 
George  W.  Bolton, 
Charles  W.  Bradford, 
Henry  W.  Brown, 
Charles  A.  Burlingame, 
Alexander  Campbell. 
Albert  Carey, 
Edwin  Carter, 
Christopher  Carter, 
Charles  A.  Chase, 
Foster  H.  Clark, 
Henry  Congdon, 
Aaron  Congdon, 
Edmoncl  Congdon, 
Timothy  Curran. 
John  H.  Durgin, 
Caleb  Freeman, 
Irving  Gaskill, 
Oscar  F.  Gifford, 
Abraham  Greaves, 
John  Green, 
Richard  Green, 
William  Henry  Harrison, 
Thomas  Healy, 


George  J.  Hendrick, 
Terny  Hogan, 
Albert  Hudson, 
William  A.  Jenckes, 
Thomas  Judge, 
Samuel  Longley, 
George  Law, 
Alexander  Levine, 
Thomas  Lewis, 
Luke  Lynch, 
William  E.  Mason, 
Samuel  Parrish, 
Hiram  Parker, 
Charles  A.  Pierce, 
George  S.  Potter, 
Thomas  Prior, 
Thomas  Riley, 
Henry  C.  Sayles, 
Marcus  L.  Smith, 
Horatio  I.  Stockbridge, 
Patrick  O.  Sullivan, 
Thomas  Sullivan, 
James  Swindles, 
Isaac  S.  Tanner, 
Benjamin  Tourtellott, 
Joseph  H.  Wheelock, 
Luke  A.  Wood. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


377 


COMPANY    H. 


Edmund  Crocker, 
Horace  G.  Miller, 
Latimer  LeFavour, 


George  P.  Grant, 
Edward  P.  Lovvden, 
Alanson  P.  Wood, 
Edward  Thayer, 


Captain. 
HENRY  F.  JENKS. 

First  Lieutenant. 
FRANK  ALLEN. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
GEORGE  A.  BUCKLIN. 

Sergeants. 

Charles  E.  Adams, 
Ambrose  P.  Rice, 
Harrison  H.  Richardson. 

Corporals. 

Joseph  Harrison, 
W.  C.  Benedict, 
Richard  Eldredge,  Jr., 
Jabez  W.  Pitcher. 

Musician. 
George  F.  Olney. 


Privates. 


Lyman  A.  Aldrich, 
William  T.  Arnold, 
John  H.  Almy, 
Frederick  A.  Baker, 

48 


George  F.  Ballou, 
Stephen  J,  Ballou, 
Phanuel  Bishop, 
Jerome  D.  Bliss, 


378 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


Horatio  N.  S.  Booth, 
fCharles  D.  Bray, 
Joseph  A.  Brown, 
Andrew  A.  Buckley, 
Charles  H.  Bullock, 
Frank  H.  Carpenter, 
Charles  E.  Carpenter, 
David  E.  Cash, 
George  H.  Cole, 
Warren  F.  Cook, 
Henry  Crocker, 
Robert  E.  Curran, 
fByron  E.  Daggett, 
Benjamin  A.  Dennis, 
John  H.  Eaton, 
David  L.  Fales, 
James  H.  Fairbanks, 
Stephen  F.  Fisk, 
Frank  D.  Fisk, 
George  H.  Foster, 
David  A.  Gage, 
William  H.  Gardner, 
Luke  Clancy, 
Joseph  B.  Gooding, 
Thomas  A.  Gregson, 
*  Richard  Gridley, 
Albert  F.  Howe, 
Charles  A.  Ide, 


George  T.  Jeffers, 
Pardon  Jenks,  Jr., 
Edwin  Leach, 
Charles  A.  Mathevvson, 
Walter  Merry, 
George  Murphy, 
Charles  W.  Nickerson, 
Edward  A.  Patt, 
Henry  N.  Pervear, 
Stephen  A.  Peck, 
Charles  F.  Pierce, 
Henry  A.  Pierce, 
Jabez  W.  Pitcher, 
Joseph  Rice, 
Robert  Saunders, 
Joseph  W.  Seagraves, 
Frank  S.  Shove, 
William  H,  Slocum, 
Smith  Tattersall, 
William  G.  Thurber, 
fTate  Timony, 
Frank  M.  Tyler, 
Percival  D.  Warburton, 
Henry  H.  Welden, 
Hamlet  Wheaton, 
John  F.  Whiting, 
Charles  D.  Wood, 
Anthony  G.  Wood. 


t  Discharged  as  a  minor. 

*  Discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  379 

COMPANY    I. 

Captain. 
SAMUEL  PEARCE. 

First  Lieutenants. 

GEORGE  LEWIS  COOKE, 
WILLIAM  H.  SURGEXS. 

Second  Lieutenants. 

WILLIAM  H.  SURGENS, 
HORACE  G.  BARRUS. 

Sergeants. 

Horace  G.  Barrus,  Charles  H.  Rounds, 

Samuel  B.  Cole,  Haile  Turner, 

Luther  Cole,  Jr.,  James  A.  Manchester. 

Corporals. 

Jeremiah  I.  Greene,  Jr.,  Peleg  Bosvvorth,  Jr., 

Caleb  S.  Carr,  Isaac  Gorham, 

Frederic  A.  Driscoll,  Thomas  F.  Marion, 

George  L.  C.  Wheaton,  Benjamin  B.  Martin. 

Nathaniel  T.  Sanders, 

Musicians. 

John  W.  Hubbard,  Samuel  D.  Maxwell. 

Privates. 

John  P.  Abbott,  A.  C.  Aldrich, 

Albert  J.  Adams,  Joseph  W.  Aldrich, 


38o 


ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 


William  A.  Arnold, 
Isaac  Barn um, 
John  Booth, 
William  Booth, 
Henry  A.  Bowen, 
William  Bradshaw, 
Mark  P.  Brown, 
John  H.  Buffington, 
Charles  H.  Bullock, 
Robert  H.  Bullock,  Jr., 
Henry  T.  Burr, 
Norman  G.  Burr, 
Elijah  Calland, 
William  Champlin, 
Thomas  Clarke, 
Thomas  Clifford, 
Edwin  J.  Collamore, 
Robert  Crowther, 
Thomas  A.  Curran, 
Willard  B.  Drown, 
James  B.  Drown, 
James  F.  Follett, 
George  C.  Franklin, 
Nathaniel  W.  Gushee, 
George  Guyette, 
Charles  D.  Horton, 


George  H.  Hunter, 
R.  H.  Johnson, 
James  H.  Johnson, 
John  Kelly, 
Wilson  Little, 
Theodore  Medbury, 
William  H.  Myers, 
Galen  F.  Nichols, 
Thomas  W.  D.  Peck, 
James  E.  Peck, 
Allen  P.  Peck, 
Joseph  Price, 
Robert  Ridgwell, 
Eugene  I.  Roffee, 
Matthew  Ryan, 
John  P.  Salisbury, 
Jeremiah  Sheehan, 
A.  J.  Shurtleff, 
*Joseph  N.  Simonds, 
Walter  F.  Thompson, 
Winfield  S.  Tompkins, 
James  E.  Viall, 
George  W.  Walker, 
John  R.  Wheaton, 
Barton  J.  Whipple, 
William  Williams. 


*  Died  September,  1862,  at  Warren,  R.  I. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 

COMPANY    K. 


Captain. 
JAMES  R.  H OLDEN. 

First  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  H.   GARDNER. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
GEORGE  H.  BURNHAM. 


Albert  B.  Streeter, 
George  H.  Abbott, 
James  F.  Mowry, 

William  C.  Clark, 
Samuel  B.  T.  Crandall, 
Alonzo  A.  Greenman, 
Daniel  J.  Viall, 

*Sylvester  B.  Arnold, 
William  Ash, 
William  Baker, 
George  B.  Bromer, 
Job  Butler, 
San  ford  Buxton, 
Joseph  C.  Clarke, 
John  Cooney, 
Patrick  Coyne, 


Sergeants. 

George  H.  Allen, 
Ambrose  L.  Atvvood. 

Corporals. 

David  Briggs, 
George  W.  Allen, 
Thomas  Johnson. 

Privates. 

Patrick  Fanning, 
Peter  Gormley, 
William  Groves, 
Joseph  A.  Green, 
James  Raggett, 
James  Hughes, 
David  W.  James, 
James  Kelley, 
Patrick  Kennedy, 


*  Died  August  2,  1862,  in  hospital. 


382  ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH 

William  W.  Maxon,  George  W.  Richmond, 

Joseph  Mechling,  Jesse  W.  Richmond, 

Robert  F.  Northup,  William  H.  H.  Swan, 

George  Nye,  John  M.  Taylor,  Jr., 

Nathan  T.  Oatley,  Brightman  Tucker, 

John  R.  Oatley,  Nehemiah  Watson, 

Welcome  A.  Potter,  Isaac  Westcott, 

Harry  A.  Richardson,  William  Young. 


COMPANY   L. 


Captains. 

JOHN   HARE  POWEL.      (See  Lieutenant-Colonels^ 
BENJAMIN  L.  SLOCUM. 

First  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  R.   LANDERS. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  H.  KING. 

Sergeants. 

Edmund  W.  Falcs,  William  M.  Minkler, 

Lance  De  Jough,  Thomas  S.  Nason. 

George  H.  Tabor, 

Corporals. 

Sumner  Lincoln,  Schuyler  Van  Renssellaer, 

William  L.  Pfeiffer,  William  C.  Rogers, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


i«3 


Frank  Morgan, 
Sigourney  B.  Goffe, 


William  S.  Slocum, 
Benjamin  A.  Peckham, 


Musicians. 
Cassius  M.  C.  Freeborn,  Christopher  Gladding. 


Theodore  Almy, 
Samuel  Babcock, 
William  H.  Barber, 
Alexander  N.  Barker, 
Henry  B.  Bateman, 
Thomas  Blacklock, 
Edward  T.  Bos  worth, 
James  M.  Brown, 
Benjamin  T.  Brown, 
George  M.  Brown, 
George  F.  Boone, 
Charles  G.  Burnett, 
William  F.  Barlow, 
Truman  Burdick, 
Thomas  Campbell, 
Robert  W.  Chappell, 
Samuel  Clark, 
William  E.  Coggeshall, 
Daniel  C.  Denhan, 
James  Dewick, 
Theophilus  C.  Dunn, 
John  B.  Durfee, 
Benjamin  B.  Durfee, 
John  Fludder, 
Orland  Freeborn, 


Privates. 


Henry  T.  French, 
Michael  Garrick, 
John  E.  Goffe, 
John  Gould,  2d, 
Robert  W.  Gould, 
George  B.  Harrington, 
Henry  I.  Hudson, 
James  Melville, 
John  L.  Nason, 
Michael  O'Brien, 
Jefferson  O'Riley, 
David  Peabody, 
Alexander  Peckham, 
Charles  T.  Prouty, 
Randall  Pullen, 
John  Ramsden, 
Ferdinand  S.  Read, 
Frank  Rice, 
Henry  Ridell, 
Edward  R.  Seagur, 
Albert  G.  Sherman, 
Thomas  W.  Sherman, 
James  Simmons, 
Edmund  D.  Slocum, 
John  H.  Stacy, 


384  ROSTER    OF    THE    NINTH    R.    I.    VOLUNTEERS. 

Edmund  Stanhope,  John  Vicars, 

Frank  M.  Swan,  William  W.  Wales, 

John  W.  Tayer,  Nicholas  A.  Wilkey, 

John  E.  Tabor,  Edward  V.  Wescott, 

Edward  H.  Tilley,  Thomas  Young. 
W7illiam  S.  Vose, 


ROSTER 


OK    THE 


Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers. 


FIELD    AXD    STAFF. 


Colonels. 
ZENAS  R.  BLISS. 

Military  Record  from  1850  to  iSqj. 

He  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  West  Point  in  1850  by  the  Hon. 
Nathan  F.  Dixon,  of  Rhode  Island.  Graduated  in  1854. 
Was  appointed  a  brevet  second  lieutenant  in  the  First  Infan 
try  and  ordered  to  Fort  Duncan,  Texas  ;  served  there  till 
June,  1855  ;  was  transferred  to  Fort  Chadbourne,  Texas,  and 
was  adjutant  of  the  battalion  en  route  to  that  post.  Was 
promoted  second  lieutenant,  Eighth  United  States  Infantry, 
and  ordered  to  Fort  Davis,  Texas,  and  served  there  till  1857 
or  1858,  most  of  that  time  in  command  of  a  detachment  of 
mounted  infantry  and  engaged  in  scouting  for  hostile  Indians. 
Was  transferred  with  company  to  Fort  Hudson,  Texas,  and 
to  various  other  posts  on  that  frontier  till  1860,  when  he  was 
promoted  first  lieutenant,  and  ordered  to  the  command  of  his 

49 


386  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

company  and  the  post  of  Fort  Quitman,  on  the  Rio  Grande. 
From  1856  was  in  command  of  a  detachment  of  mounted 
infantry,  and  also  served  in  command  of  a  company,  and  the 
posts  of  Forts  Hudson,  Clark  and  Quitman,  and  as  post  quar 
termaster,  commissary  and  adjutant  at  various  posts. 

In  March,  1861,  while  in  command  of  Fort  Quitman,  he 
received  orders  to  march  to  San  Antonio,  Texas,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  being  transferred  to  the  North.  He  abandoned  the 
post  and  marched  about  forty  miles,  when  he  received  orders 
to  await  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Reeve,  Eighth  Infantry,  who 
was  on  the  march  to  the  coast  with  other  companies  of  the 
regiment.  He  returned  to  his  post,  and  on  the  5th  of  April 
joined  Colonel  Reeve's  command  and  marched  to  San  An 
tonio,  Texas,  a  distance  of  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
On  the  Qth  of  May,  1861,  when  they  were  about  fifteen  miles 
from  San  Antonio,  they  were  met  by  a  large  force  of  over  two 
thousand  men,  under  rebel  Gen.  Earl  Van  Dorn,  consisting 
of  a  regiment  of  infantry,  one  of  cavalry,  a  battery  of  six 
pieces  of  artillery  and  an  independent  company  of  about  one 
hundred  men.  On  leaving  their  posts  they  had  been  led  to 
believe  they  were  to  be  transferred  to  the  North,  and  were 
ordered  to  take  only  sufficient  ammunition  to  protect  them 
selves  from  the  Indians,  and  to  take  rations  from  post  to 
post.  When  met  by  the  rebels  they  had  not,  according  to 
their  orders,  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  rounds  of  ammunition  per 
man,  and  only  one  day's  rations.  An  unconditional  surrender 
was  demanded,  and  Lieutenant  Bliss  was  ordered  by  Colonel 
Reeve  to  inspect  the  rebel  troops,  to  see  if  they  were  well 
armed  and  equipped,  and  to  count  or  estimate  the  number  of 
men.  After  some  difficulty  he  did  so  and  made  his  report 
that  they  were  well  armed,  etc.  They  had  previously  cap 
tured  the  arsenal  at  San  Antonio,  and  supplied  themselves 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  387 

from  the  stores  there.  A  council  of  war  was  held,  of  which 
Lieutenant  Bliss  was  not  a  member,  and  the  command  was 
surrendered.  He  was  a  junior  first  lieutenant,  and  had  noth 
ing  to  do  with  the  surrender  any  more  than  any  private,  but  was 
held  as  much  responsible  for  it  as  any  one.  No  officer  who 
was  with  the  command  at  the  time  of  surrender  was  promoted 
during  the  war,  though  several  of  them  received  the  strongest 
recommendations  for  promotion  for  gallantry  and  good  con 
duct  on  frequent  occasions. 

He  remained  a  prisoner  of  war  at  San  Antonio  till  Febru 
ary,  1862,  when  he  was  ordered  to  Richmond,  Va.,  for 
exchange.  There  were  but  three  left  of  the  officers  captured 
in  May,  the  others  having  succeeded  in  getting  North  on 
parole.  On  their  arrival  in  Richmond  they  were  shut  up  in 
the  negro  jail  and  remained  there  till  April  5th,  when  they 
were  exchanged,  having  been  held  prisoners  of  war  eleven 
months. 

In  May,  1862,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Tenth  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers  and  served  with  it  till  August,  when  he 
was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Seventh  Rhode  Island  and  re 
mained  colonel  of  it  till  honorably  mustered  out  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  commanded  the  regiment  on  the  Fred- 
ericksburg  campaign,  and  at  the  first  battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  was  recommended  by  all  his  superiors  for  promo 
tion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  for  gallantry  and  skillful 
handling  of  his  regiment  under  fire. 

In  1865  he  went  with  the  corps  to  Kentucky  and  thence 
to  Vicksburg  and  Jackson,  Miss.,  on  the  campaign  after 
Johnston,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  it  was  recommended,  first 
in  the  corps,  for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier,  and  his 
promotion,  with  others,  asked  for  by  General  Grant.  But 
he  did  not  receive  it.  He  returned  with  the  corps  to  Ken- 


388  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

tucky,  and  started  for  Knoxville  with  the  corps  in  the  winter 
of  1863  and  1864,  but  at  the  request  of  General  Ammen, 
commanding  the  district  or  department,  he  was  ordered  to 
the  command  of  the  District  of  Middle  Tennessee,  and  re 
mained  in  command  of  it  till  the  corps  was  withdrawn  from. 
Tennessee.  It  was  an  important  command.  He  had  a  large 
post  and  several  regiments,  and  protecting  about  two  million 
rations  for  Sherman's  army  and  a  large  extent  of  country. 
At  the  end  of  the  campaign  he  was  again  recommended  for 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  but  did  not  get  it 
though  all  others  recommended  did. 

He  went  with  the  corps  to  Annapolis,  Md.,  and  was  as 
signed  to  the  command  of  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division, 
Ninth  Army  Corps,  and  commanded  in  the  Wilderness,  where 
he  was  b revetted  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services.  He 
was  in  command  of  the  brigade  to  Spottsylvania,  where  he 
was  injured  by  his  horse  jumping  on  him  in  crossing  a  stream 
in  the  night.  He  commanded  the  brigade  at  the  mine  which 
was  constructed  by  a  regiment  of  his  brigade,  and  at  the 
explosion  of  the  mine  and  ensuing  battle,  and  received  a  very 
complimentary  letter  from  his  division  commander,  Gen. 
Robert  B.  Potter.  He  remained  in  command  of  the  brigade 
to  some  time  in  the  early  fall  when  he  was  obliged  to  take  a 
sick  leave.  After  being  absent  sick  some  weeks,  he  was  placed 
on  light  duty  on  a  board  of  officers,  as  president,  and  remained 
on  that  duty  till  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  following  spring. 

After  being  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer  service  he  was 
on  recruiting  service,  and  in  command  of  Schuylkill  Arsenal 
and  Fort  Porter,  N.  Y.,  till  May,  1866,  when  he  went  with 
his  company  to  South  Carolina  and  was  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  district  of  Chester,  in  that  State.  He  was 
Acting  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the  Bureau  of  Freedmen 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  389 

and  Abandoned  Lands,  provost  judge  and  provost  marshal, 
etc.,  and  had  charge  of  all  the  civil  and  military  business  of 
that  district.  In  August  he  was  ordered  on  recruiting  ser 
vice,  receiving  the  detail  for  having  served  longer  in  the 
field  during  the  rebellion  than  any  officer  in  his  regiment. 
In  August,  1867,  he  was  promoted  major  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Infantry,  and  commanded  the  posts  of  Jackson  Barracks, 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  and  Ship  Island,  Miss.,  till 
1870,  when  he  was  transferred  with  the  regiment  to  Texas, 
and  commanded  the  posts  of  Forts  Duncan,  Clark,  Stockton, 
Davis  and  Bliss,  and  for  more  than  a  year  the  regiment.  In 
1878  he  was  ordered  on  duty  in  command  of  the  principal 
depot,  general  recruiting  service,  David's  Island,  New  York 
Harbor,  and  having  been  promoted  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
Nineteenth  Infantry,  he  was  in  1880  ordered  to  the  command 
of  Fort  Hays,  Kansas.  In  1881  he  was  transferred  with  the 
regiment  to  Texas,  and  commanded  the  post  of  Ringgold 
Barracks.  In  1882  he  went  on  sick  leave  and  at  the  expira 
tion  of  it  returned  to  Texas  and  commanded  Forts  Duncan 
and  Clark,  and  for  more  than  a  year  the  regiment,  till  in 
1886  he  was  promoted  colonel  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Infantry, 
and  has  commanded  it  and  the  posts  of  Fort  Supply,  Indian 
Territory,  and  Fort  Bayard,  New  Mexico,  to  the  present 
time. 

Colonel  Bliss  has  been  in  command  of  an  independent 
organization,  district,  brigade,  regiment  or  post  since  1860, 
except  for  about  six  or  eight  months,  and  has  not  been 
absent  from  his  regiment  on  detached  service  but  once  since 
1867,  ar>d  has  served  longer  on  the  southwestern  frontier 
than  any  officer  ever  in  the  service. 


390  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

JAMES  SHAW,  JR., 

Colonel  and  Brevet  Brigadier-General, 

Entered  service  as  lieutenant-colonel,  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volun 
teers,  May  26,  1862  ;  promoted  colonel,  Aug.  6,  1862,  served 
in  defences  of  Washington  ;  mustered  out  by  reason  of  expir 
ation  of  term  of  service,  Sept.  i,  1862.  Re-entered  service 
as  lieutenant-colonel,  Twelfth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  Dec. 
31,  1862  ;  served  with  Ninth  Army  Corps  before  Fredericks- 
burg,  at  Newport  News  and  in  Kentucky,  and  with  General 
Carter  at  Somerset,  Ky.  ;  mustered  out,  expiration  of  term 
of  service,  July  29,  1863.  Went  before  "  Casey's  Board," 
passed  as  colonel,  being  the  fifth  of  that  grade  out  of  700 
examined,  and  was  appointed  colonel,  Seventh  United  States 
Colored  Troops,  Oct.  27,  1863  ;  joined  for  duty  and  assumed 
command,  Nov.  12,  1863,  at  Camp  Stanton,  Md.  Served  con 
tinuously  with  the  regiment  or  in  command  of  the  forces  to 
which  it  was  attached,  as  follows :  Commanding  post  at 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  and  brigade  on  expeditions  to  Cedar  Creek 
and  Camp  Melton  ;  commanding  First  Brigade,  Third  Divi 
sion,  Tenth  Army  Corps,  Aug.  13  to  21,  Aug.  25  to  Sept.  25, 
and  Oct.  26  to  Dec.  4,  1864;  commanding  First  Brigade, 
Second  Division,  Twenty-fifth  Army  Corps,  from  and  after 
Dec.  4,  1864;  commanding  Second  Division,  Twenty-fifth 
Army  Corps,  Feb.  21  to  March  13,  1865  ;  commanding  sub- 
district  of  Victoria,  Tex.,  from  Jan.  16,  1866,  to  Feb.  21, 
1866;  commanding  Central  District  of  Texas,  Feb.  21  to 
May  9,  1866.  Contusion  on  head  from  rifle  ball  in  action, 
Sept.  30,  1864.  Brigadier-general  by  brevet  "for  meritorious 
services  during  the  war,"  to  date  from  March  13,  1865. 
Discharged  with  the  regiment  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  Nov.  16, 
1866. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  39 1 

L  ien tenant-  Colonels. 

JAMES  SHAW,  JR.     (See  Colonel^) 

WILLIAM  M.   HALE. 

(Promoted  from  captain,  Company  I,  August  n,  1862.) 
Majors. 

CHARLES  H.   MERRIMAN. 

(Acting  till  June  9,  1862.) 

JACOB  BABBITT. 

(Killed  at  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg-,  Va.,  December,  1862  ) 

Adjutants. 
BENJAMIN  F.  THURSTON. 

(Acting  till  June  9,  1862.) 

JOHN  F.  TOBEY. 

(Served  as  first  lieutenant  Company  K.) 

Quartermasters. 
JAMES  H.  ARMINGTON. 

(Resigned  July  19,  1862.) 

WINTHROP  DE  WOLF  (acting). 
CHARLES  W.  ANGELL. 

(First  lieutenant  and  quartermaster,  July  25,  1862.) 

Surgeon. 

GEORGE  D.  WILCOX  (major). 

Assistant  Surgeon, 

ALBERT  G.   SPRAGUE  (first  lieutenant.) 
CJ tap  lain. 

A.    HUNTINGTON    CLAPP. 


392  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

Sergeant- Majors. 
JOHN  F.  TOBEY. 

(Acting  till  June  9,  1862.) 

EDWARD  K.  GLEZEN. 

Quartermaster-Sergeant. 
LYSANDER  FLAGG. 

Commissary  Sergeant. 
JAMES  O.   S\VAN. 

Hospital  Steward. 
CHARLES  G.  KING. 


COMPANY   A. 

Captain. 
WILLIAM  E.  TABER. 

First  Lieutenant. 
JOSEPH  L.  BENNETT,  JR. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
LEANDER  C.  BELCHER. 

Sergeants. 

William  A.  James,  Sullivan  H.  Dawley 

Pembroke  S.  Eddy,  Daniel  D.  Bucklin. 

Ambrose  R.  Peck, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


Corporals. 


William  W.  Thompson, 
Albert  C.  Winsor, 
George  VV.  S.  Burroughs, 
Joseph  Smith, 
Joseph  C.  Cheetham, 

William  H.  Aldrich, 
t Frank  H.  Angell, 
*William  F.  Atwood, 

Henry  B.  Barrows, 

Joseph  E.  Blake, 

Nathan  S.  Blake, 

William  T.  Brown, 

John  Buchanan, 

Robert  Charnley, 

Daniel  E.  Corey, 

Isaac  Dakin, 

Charles  H.  Dexter, 

William  H.  Dingwell, 

Barnard  M.  Eddy, 

John  Farrell, 

Franklin  B.  Ham, 

Frank  T.  Hazlewood, 
fWilliam  H.  Heath, 

Wendell  P.  Hood, 
fjames  B.  Horton, 

John  H.  Johnson, 
tjohn  Larramore, 

Edwin  Morse, 


Eugene  F.  Phillips, 
Caleb  C.  Greene,  Jr., 
Godfrey  Greene,  Jr., 
John  H.  Johnson. 


Privates. 


Inman  A.  Mowry,  Jr., 

fjames  Murphy, 
Michael  O'Connell, 
Ebenezer  Peck, 
Joseph  S.  Phipps, 
Silas  W.  Plimpton,  Jr., 
Ashael  Potter, 
Adam  Pomfret, 

fOwen  H.  Quinland, 
James  Redfern, 
Charles  H.  Saunders, 
John  Shawcross, 
Henry  B.  Shearer, 

fEben  Thing, 
Orlando  P.  Thompson, 
Reuben  L.  Thornton, 

fjohn  Torrance, 
George  R.  Waite, 
John  A.  Waite, 
Lewis  C.  Whittier, 

fFrank  H.  Williams, 
Charles  Wilson, 
Luther  T.  Winslow. 


*  Died  at  Georgetown  hospital,  June  29,  1862. 
t  Discharged  us  a  minor,  July  S,  1862. 

50 


394  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

COMPANY  B. 


Captain. 

ELISHA  DYER. 

May  4,  1842,  adjutant-general,  State  of  Rhode  Island  ;  honorably 
discharged,  May  4,  1847;  1857,  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island;  1861,  captain,  Fourth  Ward  Company,  First 
Regiment  Rhode  Island  National  Guard;  May  26,  1862, 
mustered  in  captain,  Co.  B,  Tenth  Regiment  Rhode  Island 
Volunteers;  Sept.  i,  1862,  mustered  out  of  service. 

First  Lieutenants. 
SAMUEL  H.  THOMAS. 

(August  n,  1862,  promoted  to  captain  Company  I.) 

WILLIAM  C.   CHACE. 

Second  L  ientenants . 
WILLIAM  C.  CHACE. 

(August  n,  1862,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant.) 

CHARLES  F.  PHILLIPS. 

(August  n,  1862,  promoted  from  first  sergeant  Company  B.) 

Sergeants. 

Charles  F.  Phillips,  Charles  L.  Stafford, 

Henry  B.  Franklin,  Eben  W.  McGlaulin, 

Nathaniel  B.  Chace,  George  T.  Baker. 

Corporals. 

Samuel  W.  Church,  Barnabas  J.  Chace, 

Nathan  H.  Baker,  Addison  W.  Goffe, 

John  Tetlow,  Jr.,  John  B.  Kelley, 

William  P.  Vaughan,  Charles  H.  Scott. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


395 


Musician. 
Edward  M.  Gage. 


Frederick  Alexander, 
Samuel  A.  W.  Arnold, 
Joshua  M.  Addeman, 
Charles  H.  Anthony, 
Thomas  Burlingame, 
De  Forest  Brown, 
John  G.  Browning, 
James  W.  Blackwood, 
William  W.  Bliss, 
Horace  K.  Blanchard, 

fjesse  M.  Bush, 
Charles  H.  Clarke, 
Charles  M.  Corbin, 
Charles  C.  Cragin, 
William  P.  Cragin, 
James  T.  Cook, 
Forrest  F.  Emerson, 
James  F.  Field, 
George  M.  Fanning, 

fByron  Harris, 
Edwin  B.  Fiske, 
Frank  Frost, 
Henry  G.  Gay, 
Charles  B.  Greene, 
Charles  T.  Greene, 
Francis  Gould, 


Privates. 

George  W.  Handy, 

fWilliam  H.  Hawks, 
Robert  B.  Holden, 
John  S.  Holmes, 
Charles  E.  Hosmer, 

f  David  Hunt,  Jr., 
Enoch  F.  Hoxie, 

fGeorge  A.  Jenckes, 
George  P.  Kenyon, 
Joseph  W.  Lake, 
Charles  M.  Latham, 
Henry  S.  Latham,  Jr., 
Dean  S.  Linnell, 
Richard  P.  Lobdell, 
Benjamin  T.  Marble, 

*Matthew  M.  Meggett, 
Charles  S.  McCreading, 
William  H.  Moffitt, 
James  Nicholson, 
Charles  E.  R.  Page, 

t Allen  G.  Peck, 
Addison  Parker,  Jr., 
John  F.  Pierce, 
Owen  S.  Pond, 
Thomas  T.  Potter, 
Samuel  H.  Pratt, 


*  August  iS,  1862,  died  in  hospital,  Fort  Pennsylvania,  D.  C. 
t  July  S,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 


396 


ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 


Samuel  G.  Rawson, 
John  A.  Reynolds, 
Dana  B.  Robinson, 
George  W.  Robinson, 
William  W.  Salisbury, 
Livingston  Scott, 
Orville  B.  Seagrave, 
Thomas  J.  Smith, 


George  H.  Sparhawk, 
*William  A.  Spicer, 

Franklin  A.  Steere, 
fFrank  F.  Tingley, 
fGeorge  E.  Thompson, 

James  R.  D.  Thompson, 

Benjamin  W.  Wilbour. 


COMPANY    C. 


Captain. 
JEREMIAH  M.  VOSE. 

First  Lieutenant. 
JOHN  K.  BRADFORD. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
CALEB  B.  HARRINGTON. 


Sergeants. 


Henry  N.  Stevens, 
Daniel  B.  Rodman, 
Amos  G.  Thomas, 


Harry  D.  Perkins, 
Joseph  W.  Padelford, 


*  July  i,  1862,  detached  on  special  service  at  General  Pope's  headquarters. 
t  July  S,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


397 


Joseph  W.  Bradford, 
William  C.  Angell, 
Joshua  Hunt, 


Corporals. 

Caleb  K.  Thayer, 
William  B.  Durfee. 


Musician. 
fjoshiia  H.  Thomas. 


William  Allen, 
John  Atkinson, 
Ezra  Bisbee, 
James  Bovvden, 

fWilliam  T.  Boyden, 
Edward  L.  Brown, 
John  A.  Brown, 

fThomas  A.  Brown, 
Charles  R.  Burke, 
James  E.  Campbell, 
William  B.  Durfee, 
George  Eagan, 
Jerome  B.  Farnum, 
John  H.  Gardner, 
Ellis  T.  Hay  ward, 
Albert  F.  Hoxie, 
John  L.  Hussey, 
Gilbert  A.  Irons, 
Nathan  Jacques, 
Isaac  C.  Kendall, 
John  E.  Kenyon, 


Privates. 


Daniel  E.  Kiley, 
William  H.  Leonard, 
George  W.  Lewis, 
Theodore  F.  Lewis, 
Rice  A.  Miller, 
Edmund  J.  Munroe, 
Thomas  B.  Munroe, 
George  A.  Pettis, 
George  P.  Rose, 
Frank  Seamans, 
Stephen  A.  Shaw, 
Silas  Sherman,  Jr., 
Henry  H.  Steadman, 
Elisha  W.  Sweet, 
George  L.  Thurber, 
James  Tomman, 
William  Tremble, 
John  H.  Tyler, 
James  H.  Waterman, 
Andrew  J.  Williams, 
Ferdinand  A.  Williams. 


t  July  7,  1862,  discharged  for  disability. 


398  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

COMPANY  D. 

Captains. 

CHARLES   H.   DUNHAM. 

(Acting  till  June  8,  1862.) 

WILLIAM  S.   SMITH. 

First  Lieutenants. 
JAMES  H.  ARMINGTON. 

(Resigned  July  19,  1862.) 

WILLIAM  S.   SMITH. 

(June  8,  1862,  promoted  to  captain.) 

WINTHROP  DE  WOLF. 

Second  Lieutenants. 
WINTHROP  DE  WOLF. 

(July  25,  1862,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant.) 

CHARLES  W.  ANGELL. 

(July  25,  1862,  promoted  from  private.) 

Sergeants. 

Thomas  A.  Starkey,  fSamuel  R.  Dorrance, 

Charles  S.  Mathewson,  Daniel  Bush, 

Edward  W.  Brown,  William  H.  H.  Brayman. 

Thomas  F.  Tobey, 

Corporals. 

Howard  O.  Sturges,  Philip  Kelley, 

Henry  A.  Foster,  Brockholst  Mathewson,  2cl, 

George  H.  Daniels,  Frederic  Buttendorf, 

Edward  N.  Gould,  Edward  K.  Thompson. 

[July  15,  1862,  discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


399 


Privates. 


Edward  Aborn, 
George  W.  Adams, 
Nelson  W.  Aldrich, 
Willard  J.Allen, 
Frederic  J.  Armington, 
t William  Whitman  Bailey, 
Alfred  H.  Barber,  Jr., 
James  H.  Barney, 
George  B.  Barrows, 
George  B.  Binney, 
George  D.  Briggs, 
Samuel  T.  Brown, 
Herman  Buttendorf, 
George  Bucklin, 
Levi  L.  Burdon, 
John  G.  Burrough, 
John  H.  Cacly, 
Henry  T.  Chace, 
Edward  C.  Clarke, 
Peleg  Clarke,  Jr., 
Harry  Castello, 
Eben  B.  Crane, 
Samuel  S.  Davis, 
Charles  H.  DeWolf, 
J.  Halsey  DeWolf, 
John  K.  Dorrance, 
James  D.  Dougherty, 
Henry  P.  Eldridge, 
James  M.  Flagg, 
Charles  O.  Giles, 


Albert  E.  Ham, 
Henry  A.  Hamilton, 
William  A.  Harris, 
Frederic  H.  Hedge,  Jr., 
Charles  H.  Hidden, 
William  H.  Hubbard, 
Lucien  E.  Kent, 
George  W.  Kennedy, 
Albert  B.  Kimball, 
Henry  J.  Le valley, 
Thomas  Livingston, 
Hugh  McGovern, 
Norman  N.  Mason, 
Frank  S.  Mead, 
S.  Erastus  Merchant, 
Joshua -Mellen, 
James  Morning,  Jr., 
Elisha  C.  Mowry, 
Charles  K.  Newcomb, 
William  R.  Okie, 
Edward  S.  Parker, 
Robert  H.  Paine, 
J.  Haradon  Peck, 
John  Pitman,  Jr., 
John  Anson  Price, 
John  M.  Richmond, 
Christopher  Rhodes, 
John  R.  Sisson, 
Herman  C.  Stillwell, 
Charles  M.  Smith, 


lies,  ^naries  lu.  omitr 

t  July  15,  1862,  discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate. 


4OO                                      ROSTER  OF    THE    TENTH 

John  E.  Smith,  Joseph  Ward, 

John  R.  Smith,  George  C.  Webster, 

fSolomon  Smith,  *Charles  H.  Wildman, 

Edward  K.  Thompson,  William  L.  Wickes. 
Robert  Thompson, 


COMPANY  E. 


Captain. 
HOPKINS  B.  CADY. 

First  Lieutenant. 
STEPHEN  THURBEK. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
MOSES  O.  DARLING. 

Sergeants. 

John  A.  Jeffrey,  William  Stone, 

Raymond  W.  Cahoone,  Frank  Holden. 

Ray  G.  Burlingame, 

Corporals. 

Orsmus  A.  Taft,  J.  Collins  Gould, 

Isaac  S.  Burke,  Nathan  T.  Robinson, 

Joseph  C.  Whiting,  Jr.,  Ira  R.  Wilbur, 

Welcome  B.  Darling,  William  A.  H.  Grant. 

*  July  i,  1862,  detached  on  special  service  at  General  Pope's  headquarters, 
t  July  15,  186.2,  discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


401 


Musician. 
Amos  B.  Sherman. 


Samuel  S.  Baker, 
John  Bishop, 
James  B.  Brogden, 
Chavmcey  Brown, 
Joseph  R.  Burrows, 

•(•Arthur  Burt, 
Charles  H.  Burt, 
Christopher  A.  Cady, 
Walter  D.  Colwell, 
Lewis  E.  Davis, 
Samuel  Dunkerly, 
John  F.  Durfee, 
James  A.  Foster, 
Joseph  B.  Hayward, 
William  H.  Henshavv, 

•(•Edwin  Herrick, 
Michael  Hickey, 
Joseph  H.  Horr, 
Theodore  Horton, 
George  W.  Horton, 
Henry  H.  James, 


Privates. 


|F.  M.  Johnson, 
Daniel  Kelly, 

|A.  W.  Ladd, 
George  W.  Lindsay, 
Thomas  A.  Manchester, 

|C.  W.  Mason, 
Edward  T.  Nichols, 

f  Henry  W.  Pearce, 
Ellery  W.  Price, 
John  Russell, 
John  Sawyer, 
Job  W.  Sherman, 
William  H.  Sherman,  2d, 
William  Simmons, 
Charles  A.  Sweet, 
Nathan  J.  Sweetland, 
Charles  J.  Tourtellott, 
Gilbert  P.  Vallett, 
William  H.  White, 
Henry  A.  Wellman, 
Henry  S.  Yarwood. 


f  July,  1862,  discharged  as  a 


r.l 


402 


ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 


COMPANY    F. 


Captain. 
BENJAMIN  W.  HARRIS. 

First  L  ien tenan t. 
ORVILLE  P.  JONES, 

Second  Lieutenant. 
GEORGE  VV.   FAIRBANKS. 


Sereants. 


Joel  Metcalf,  Jr., 
Charles  A.  Barbour, 
Charles  H.  Worsley, 

William  E.  Thurston, 
Samuel  A.  Whelden, 
William  W.  Crandall, 
Charles  E.  Carnes, 


John  Buckley, 
George  N.  Capron, 
Michael  Carlin, 
James  Collins, 
James  Curran, 
John  Drugan, 
Patrick  Fay, 
Joseph  Field, 


Charles  G.  Ingraham, 
George  T.  Bovven. 


Corporals. 

Thomas  H.  Shannon, 
Andrew  Greenhalgh, 
James  Ferguson, 
William  H.  Luther. 

Privates. 

John  Goud, 
William  D.  Gardiner, 
James  Hanney, 
John  Hannifen, 
Edward  Healey, 
George  C.  Luther, 
John  McDonnell, 
James  McElroy, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


403 


Samuel  Meegan, 
Peter  Mullen, 
William  Mullen, 
John  Niles, 
Andrew  O'Hare, 
David  O'Hare, 
Charles  O'Neil, 
William  Platt, 
Seaman  Pattinson, 
James  W.  Randall, 


Michael  J.  Ryan, 
John  Rouch, 
Joseph  Simons, 
Simon  Smith, 
Henry  Sherman, 
Solomon  Taylor, 
Charles  E.  Tetlow, 
James  Welch, 
Henry  Zuill. 


COMPANY   G. 


Captain. 
ALBERT  CRAWFORD  GREENE. 

First  Lieutenant. 
JAMES  H.  ALLEN. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
EBEN  BURLIXGAME. 


John  B.  Benson, 
Philip  C.  Gray, 
Edmund  W.  Hawkins, 


Charles  H.  Allen, 
George  Crittenden, 


Sergeants. 

Albert  J.  Manchester, 
Andrew  J.  Dexter. 

Corporals. 

Charles  F.  Northup, 
Franklin  Cooley, 


404 


ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 


Charles  H.  Jordan, 
William  C.  Thurston, 


Asahel  H.  Harris, 
James  A.  Peckham. 


Musician. 
John  F.  Parks. 


George  M.  Adams, 
George  F.  Aldrich, 
Thomas  W.  Angell, 
John  R.  Atwood, 
Stephen  A.  Barry, 
Henry  N.  Brown, 
Henry  R.  Brown, 
Greenleaf  D.  Brown, 
Isaac  Brown, 
Joseph  E.  Brown, 
Gustavus  B.  Burlingame, 
Hiram  Brand, 
John  R.  Burke, 
David  R.  Campbell, 
Patrick  Cashman, 
George  Chace, 
George  Chatterton,  Jr., 
Richard  Clarke, 
James  Doran, 
William  W.  Eddy, 
Erwin  S.  Eggleston, 
Pardon  B.  S.  Fords, 
George  W.  Franklin, 


Privates. 

fFrederick  A.  Fry, 
Albert  L.  Greene, 
Samuel  H.  Hopkins, 
Erastus  M.  Hunt, 
William  G.  Hynds, 
Royal  E.  Jones, 
George  Kellogg, 
Frank  R.  Lewis, 

^Albert  A.  McDougald, 
John  E.  Mathewson, 
Dennis  McLaughlin, 
Lewis  A.  Medbury, 
Frank  B.  Mott, 
Thomas  E.  Noonan, 
Benjamin  F.  Nicholas, 
George  W.  Nicholas, 
Charles  E.  Osbornc, 
Allen  Paine, 
Arnold  J.  Paine, 
Charles  H.  Philbrick, 
Benjamin  E.  Phillips. 
Stephen  Phetteplace, 
Stephen  W.  Poole, 


t  June  24,  1862,  discharged  for  disability. 
|  June  9,  1862,  discharged  a?  "  •"•'"-•- 


a  mino 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  405 

William  H.  Poole,  Lewis  O.  Walker, 

Henry  Schoch,  John  Warner, 

Benjamin  Scott,  Samuel  S.  Warren, 

Albert  W.  Sprague,  Alonzo  Whipple, 

Daniel  Sullivan,  James  C.  Whipple, 

John  W.  Taylor,  Reuben  Wickes, 

George  H.  Tyler,  Preston  D.  Yerrington. 


COMPANY    H. 

Captain. 
CHRISTOPHER  DUCKWORTH. 

First  L  icu  ten  an  t. 
NICHOLAS  B.  BOLLES. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  H.  MASON. 

Sergeants 

George  A.  Winchester,  Alfred  Baker, 

Edward  C.  Kendall,  Charles  P.  Gay. 

Henry  G.  Lillibridge, 

Corporals. 

Charles  H.  Beadle,  George  A.  Kendall, 

Benjamin  F.  Pabodie,  Albert  G.  Knowles, 

William  T.  Hovey,  James  A.  Bucklin, 

Alphonso  W.  Martin,  Charles  A.  Kimball. 


406 


ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 


William  E.  Dickerson, 


James  Annis, 
Job  Armstrong, 
Bradford  W.  Bennett, 
William  A.  Brown, 
William  A.  Brownell, 
Frederick  G.  Chaffin, 
Henry  Clark, 
Warren  F.  Clemence, 
William  H.  Crins, 
John  H.  Dodge, 
Albert  E.  Fuller, 
Mark  Hartsine, 
William  H.  Hedley, 
Joshua  M.  Hunt, 
Charles  H.  Jackson, 
Robert  Knight, 


Musicians. 

William  J.  Tiiley,  Jr. 

Privates. 

Benjamin  Lewis, 
John  E.  Lamed,  Jr., 
Almy  Mathewson, 
Alonzo  Mathewson, 
William  H.  Mathewson, 
William  B.  Pierce, 
Henry  Read, 
Henry  Reinwald, 
Charles  A.  Remington, 
Albert  F.  Remington, 
George  F.  Sheldon, 
Edwin  A.  Smith, 
William  H.  Thornton, 
Edwin  I.  Thurber, 
Edward  Updike, 
fGeorge  Williams. 


COMPANY   I. 


Captains.      (See  Lieutenant-Colonel.) 
WILLIAM  M.  HALE. 
SAMUEL  H.  THOMAS. 

(August  n,  1862,  from  first  lieutenant  Company  B.) 

First  Lieutenant. 
CHARLES  H.  MUMFORD. 


|  July  7,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


407 


Second  Lieutenant. 
PETER  ALEXANDER  REID. 


Frank  R.  Dennis, 
William  T.  Luther, 
John  R.  Allen, 

John  W.  Greene, 
Moses  B.  Chace, 
Frederic  A.  Studley, 
Frederic  S.  Luther, 


John  G.  Alers, 
Fenner  R.  Allen, 
William  PL  Ayer, 
Leander  Baker, 
Horace  E.  Barker, 
James  G.  Brown, 
Horace  R.  Butts, 
Matthew  A.  Chace, 
Richard  J.  Chappell, 
Charles  F.  Church, 
Robert  Dickerson, 
George  Foster, 
Joseph  Garrett, 


Sergeants. 

Henry  R.  Barker, 
Daniel  E.  Barney. 

Corporals. 

Benjamin  D.  Hale, 
Thomas  N.  D.  Reynolds, 
Oliver  S.  Alers, 
Charles  W.  Howe. 

Musician. 
Edwin  R.  Burr. 

Privates. 

Charles  Gerlach, 
George  W.  Grant, 
William  F.  Green, 
James  S.  Griffin, 
George  G.  Gunn, 
George  B.  Hale, 
George  W.  Harris,  Jr., 
Thomas  W.  D.  Horton, 

fCharles  E.  Millard, 
Cornelius  W.  Miller, 

fGeorge  W.  Mereweather, 
Thomas  Moore, 
James  M.  Munroe, 


t  July  7,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 


408  ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH 

Charles  W.  Peck,  Daniel  O.  Sullivan, 

John  F.  Peck,  Charles  A.  Schuler, 

Edward  B.  Peck,  Henry  P.  Tillinghast, 

John  F.  Paine,  William  Toye, 

George  Pepall,  William  H.  Trenn, 

James  W.  Presbrey,  Pardon  Wilbur, 

George  H.  Pike,  Chauncey  C.  Williams, 

William  H.  Pullen,  Jr.,  Albert  W.  White, 

Frederic  Roberts,  Samuel  Y.  Weaver. 
Charles  E.  Ross, 


COMPANY    K. 


Captain. 
G.  FRANK  Low. 

First  L  ien tena  n t. 
JOHN  F.  TOBEY  (adjutant). 

Second  Lieutenant. 
WILLIAM  G.  PETTIS. 

Sergeants. 

Munson  H.  Najac,  Sylvester  Martin, 

William  A.  Wilson,  Nathan  S.  K.  Davis. 

James  E.  Blackmar, 

Corporals. 

Frederick  W.  Ellis,  James  F.  Mason, 

James  F.  Davison,  J.  Bradley  Adams, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS. 


409 


John  D.  Eclgell, 
Jesse  P.  Eddy, 


Israel  M.  Bullock, 
Mathevv  Blanchard, 
Benjamin  Briggs, 
James  P.  Brown, 
Benjamin  H.  Case, 
Edison  C.  Chick, 
John  S.  Chick, 
Frank  A.  Church, 
Amos  Cross, 
John  B.  Davison, 
Edgar  J.  Doe, 
Thomas  Farrell, 
Amasa  R.  Goffe, 
§Stephen  P.  Greene, 
John  B.  Hanna. 
Daniel  H.  Helme, 
Benjamin  H.  Hemminway, 
John  J.  Holmes, 
John  C.  Hopkins, 
Stephen  A.  Horton, 
William  C.  Ives, 
Walter  M.  Jackson, 
Willis  B.  Jackson, 
Reuben  W.  Johnson, 
Gilbert  A.  Kenney, 
George  H.  Kenyon, 
Frank  A.  Love, 
De  Witt  C.  Mathewson, 


Zephaniah  Brown,  2d, 
Joseph  E.  Handy. 

Privates. 

Carlo  Mauran, 
Frederick  McCausland, 

|J.  Wilson  McCrillis, 
George  H.  Messer, 
Samuel  N.  Mitchell, 
Henry  L.  Place, 
Albert  B.  Pond, 
Harris  H.  Potter, 
Horatio  N,  Reynolds, 

^Charles  E.  Rhodes, 
Henry  W.  Robinson, 
Lewis  L.  Sagendorph, 
George  W.  Shaw, 
Elisha  Smith, 
Daniel  Sullivan, 
Charles  D.  Thurber, 
Frank  H.  Thurber, 
George  K.  Tyler, 
William  H.  Underbill, 
Levi  C.  Walker, 
A.  Fuller  Warren, 
George  W.  Welden, 
Charles  S.  White, 
Thomas  G.  Whaley, 
William  C.  Witter, 
Charles  D.  Wilbur, 


William  H.  Young. 


f  June  7,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 
|  July  7,  1862,  discharged  as  a  minor. 
§  Discharged  as  a  minor. 

r>2 


ROSTER 

OF    THE 

TENTH  LIGHT  BATTERY  RHODE  ISLAND  VOLUNTEERS, 

(Company  L.) 


Captain. 
EDWIN  C.  GALLUP. 

First  Lieutenants. 

Senior.     SAMUEL  A.   PEARCE,  JR. 

Junior.     FRANK  A.  RHODES. 

Second  Lieutenants. 

Senior.     AMOS  D.   SMITH,  JR. 

Junior.     HENRY  PEARCE. 

Hospital  Steward. 
CHARLES  \V.  CADY. 

First  Sergeant. 
AMASA  C.  TOURTELLOTT. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant. 
ASA  LYMAN. 


Sergeants. 

James  S.  Davis,  Jr.,  George  W.  Paton, 

Henry  W.  Brown.  Stephen  G.  Luther, 

Calvin  J.  Adams,  Philip  B.  Stiness,  Jr. 


ROSTER    OF    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERY    R.I.   VOLS.          4!  I 

Corporals. 

John  L.  Remlinger,  Alphonso  Bennett, 

Henry  A.  Guild,  Henry  A.  Boss, 

Smith  F.  Phillips,  Isaac  S.  Andrews, 

Nathaniel  F.  Win  slow,  Jr.,  *James  Flate, 

Ephraim  Greene,  James  M.  Harrison, 

John  P.  Dow,  Liscomb  C.  Winn. 
Charles  H.  Starkey, 

Artificers. 

William  Almy,  Charles  J.  Noonan. 

Musician. 

Daniel  F.  Read. 

Volunteer  Surgeon. 
Edward  Carrington  Franklin. 

Privates. 

George  H.  Adams,  Horatio  N.  Billington, 

Robert  Aldrich,  Frederic  D.  Bliss, 

George  Aldermick,  William  J.  Booth, 

Smith  A.  Alexander,  William  A.  Bragg, 

Henry  H.  Almy,  William  B.  Briggs, 

Thomas  Atwood,  Gardner  K.  Browning, 

Henry  C.  Bailey,  Henry  A.  Burchard, 

Samuel  Bailey,  Frederic  L.  Burden, 

Edwin  H.  Barnes,  Frederic  Campbell, 

Norman  K.  Barnes,  Donald  Cameron, 

William  A.  Bates,  Joseph  Carroll, 

George  H.  Baxter,  Thomas  Chace,  Jr., 

Alfred  A.  Bicknell,  John  Carvey, 

*August  S,  1862,  killed  by  accident  near  Fort  Pennsylvania. 


412 


ROSTER    OF    THE    TENTH    LIGHT    BATTERY 


Frank  W.  Cole, 
Nelson  G.  Cole, 
Elijah  D.  Collins, 
James  Cruikshanks, 
James  Crook, 
Edgar  A.  Cummings, 
George  Cummings, 
James  Curran, 
Bethil  Curtis, 
Charles  Dougherty, 
Joseph  D.  Dow, 
Aaron  Duxbury, 
Ezekiel  Emerson, 
Joseph  R.  Elsbree, 
Mitchell  J.  Fagan, 
Mitchell  A.  Feeley, 
Edson  D.  Follett, 
Joseph  A.  Fowler, 
Thomas  H.  French, 
Smith  Goodspeed, 
Frederic  W.  Granger, 
George  W.  Greene, 
Patrick  Gleason, 
Edward  P.  Harney, 
David  Hart, 
Henry  N.  Hopkins, 
James  F.  Hopkins, 
J.  Ray  Hopkins, 
Daniel  H.  Horton, 
Gideon  M.  Horton, 
Mitchell  F.  Holden, 
Patrick  Herren, 


William  H.  Harvey, 
William  Jenkins, 
William  F.  Johnson, 
George  P.  Johnson, 
George  Kearney, 
Patrick  Kelly, 
Willard  A.  Knight, 
William  Londaigon, 
Timothy  McCarthy, 
Joseph  McClellan, 
Patrick  McGettrick, 
Peter  McCready, 
Peter  McDermott, 
Prescott  Miller, 
George  F.  Munroe, 
Patrick  Murphy, 
Henry  Myers, 
Matthew  Meehan, 
Hugh  McGuire, 
John  McCarty, 
Ambrose  A.  Newbert, 
Ellery  Northup, 
Francis  Perkins, 
Duty  Place. 
James  C.  Potter, 
Oliver  A.  Potter, 
Thomas  H.  Ray, 
Jason  B.  Reynolds, 
Albert  Richards, 
Henry  A.  Remington, 
Isaac  Riley, 
George  Robinson, 


RHODE    ISLAND    VOLUNTEERS.  413 

Myron  Rounds,  Henry  Tucker, 

William  A.  Ryan,  Stephen  D.  Tucker, 

Augustus  Read,  William  L.  Tyrrell, 

John  Schaab,  Daniel  R.  Tennant, 

Matthew  Scott,  William  Turner, 

Henry  L.  Shippen,  Brayton  Vallett, 

William  Somerville,  Stillman  W.  Wade, 

William  Southers,  Allen  T.  White, 

George  Stone,  Alpha  B.  White, 

Charles  N.  Sheldon,  David  H.  Wright, 

John  Stewart,  James  Wood, 

Henry  J.  Stewart,  William  E.  Wood  worth, 

John  Taylor,  Patrick  Welch. 
Israel  O.  Taylor, 


414  RESOLUTIONS. 


TILLIXGHAST'S  ASSEMBLY  ROOMS,      } 
PROVIDENCE.  R.  I.,  May  26,  1893.  ) 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  and  Battery  Veteran 
Association,  held  this  evening,  upon  motion  of  Comrade  Charles  F.  Phillips, 
the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  a  vote  of  thanks  be  tendered  to  Comrade  William  A.  Spicer, 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  satisfactory  manner  with  which  he  has  performed 
the  arduous  duty  of  editing  and  compiling  the  History  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth 
Regiments  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  and  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Battery. 

Resolved^  That  a  special  copv  of  the  new  Regimental  Ilistorv,  suitably  bound 
and  inscribed,  with  these  resolutions  inserted,  be  presented  to  Comrade  Spicer 
by  this  Association. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  by  the  President  to  carry 
into  effect  the  foregoing  resolutions. 

President  Albert  J.  Manchester  appointed  as  this  committee  Charles  F. 
Phillips  and  William  A.  II.  Grant,  of  the  Tenth  Regiment,  and  Philip  B. 
Stiness,  of  the  Tenth  Batterv. 

Upon  motion,  Comrade  Harrison  II.  Richardson,  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  was 
added  to  the  committee. 

Attest : 

GEO.  A.  WINCHESTER, 

Secretary. 


RESOLUTIONS.  415 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  Oct.  Jist,  1893. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Publication  of  the  Ninth  and  Tenth 
R.  I.  Regiments  Veteran  Association,  Comrade  Henry  F.  Jenks,  of  the  Ninth 
Regiment  Association,  was  appointed  Chairman,  and  William  A.  11.  Grunt,  of 
the  Tenth  Regiment  Association,  Secretary. 

Comrade  William  A.  Spicer,  the  regimental  historian,  reported  that  he  had 
completed  the  work  assigned  him  by  the  Committees  on  Publication,  and  had 
now  the  pleasure  of  presenting  them  with  a  copy  of  the  History. 

Comrade  Harrison  II.  Richardson,  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  Committee,  said 
he  had  no  doubt  but  that  the  history  now  completed  would  receive  the  hearty 
endorsement  and  approval  of  the  comrades,  as  it  had  of  the  Committee  on  Pub 
lication,  and  offered  the  following  resolutions  : 

WHEREAS,  Comrade  William  A.  Spicer  has  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion 
his  labors  as  Editor  of  our  Regimental  History,  and  has  produced  a  volume 
which,  while  not  recording  any  thrilling  feats  of  arms,  presents  a  graphic- 
picture  of  life  in  the  camp  and  on  the  march,  as  described  by  the  Boys  in  Blue 
of  T>2  ;  therefore, 

/iV.vWrvv/,  That  the  thanks  of  our  several  Associations  are  due  to  Comrade 
Spicer  for  the  patient  persistencv  displayed  in  his  search  for  material,  and  the 
skill  with  which  he  has  woven  the  threads  of  his  narrative,  as  well  as  for  the 
careful  discrimination  displayed  in  the  production  of  a  book  which  may  find  its 
welcome  in  the  family  circle,  or  the  public  library,  as  well  as  at  the  camp-tire; 
and. 

/iV.sWrvv/,  As  a  further  testimonial  of  our  appreciation,  that  Comrade  William 
A.  Spicer  be,  and  he  is,  hereby  appointed  Treasurer,  to  receive  and  to  disburse 
all  funds  appropriated  or  coming  from  the  sale  of  books,  reporting  as  required 
to  this  committee,  or  its  successor. 

The  above  resolutions  were  unanimouslv  adopted. 

HENRY   F.  JENKS,   Chairman. 
\V.  A.   II.  GRANT,  Secretary. 
Oct.  2ist,  1893. 


YC  51242 


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